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Two hurt after high-speed chase, wreck
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Forsyth County News

Two Alabama men were hospitalized Thursday after an early morning high-speed chase and wreck that authorities say also involved alcohol.


The men were attempting to elude authorities in a stolen Corvette when the vehicle overturned and struck a power pole at Lumpkin Campground and Dawson Forest roads.


The incident, which began in Forsyth County, disrupted power service for several hours in a widespread area of Dawson County and northern Forsyth, emergency officials said.


Daniel Todd Steele and Bryan Nell, both of Huntsville, Ala., were taken to area hospitals in serious condition, according to Dawson County Emergency Services Chief Lanier Swafford.


It is not clear who was driving the vehicle, which Forsyth County Sheriff's Capt. Frank Huggins said had been reported stolen about midnight Thursday in Huntsville.


As of Thursday morning, Nell was undergoing surgery in the intensive care unit at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, Huggins said.

Steele was taken by ambulance to North Fulton Medical Center, where his condition could not be determined.

Huggins said the chase began about 4:30 a.m. when the driver of the Corvette pulled out in front of, and nearly struck, a Forsyth County sheriff's patrol car on Hwy. 9 at Cemetery Road in northern Forsyth.


The deputy pursued the vehicle onto Hopewell Road, where the driver ran a stop sign at Jot Em Down Road before continuing north into Dawson County.


Huggins said the driver then lost control of the vehicle and hit a power pole while approaching the roundabout at Lumpkin Campground and Dawson Forest.


Both men were thrown from the vehicle, Huggins said.


"We do not know the extent of their injuries," he said.


Huggins said alcohol was involved in the wreck.


The men face multiple traffic charges, in addition to charges related to the stolen vehicle, he said.