Suspect crashes stolen vehicle into Buckhead apartment complex

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A car stolen 1,800 miles away wrecked into a Buckhead apartment building while fleeing from the Georgia State Patrol.

A trooper spotted the BMW 750 speeding on Piedmont Road around 11 p.m. Thursday. The driver turned onto Lindbergh Drive, and stopped in the middle of the road. Investigators said when the trooper got on his PA and told the driver to pull to the side, the BMW took off. A pursuit followed.

The chase, which started at slow speeds, went through an apartment complex and onto Garson Drive. That's where the BMW driver hit the accelerator, but he didn't get very far. Troopers said he crashed after being unable to make a 90-degree turn.

The car went through a guardrail, destroyed some shrubs and then crashed into a maintenance closet at the corner of a building in the Pointe at Lindbergh apartment complex.  

The impact damaged the gas line and electrical systems inside the building.

The driver took off on foot, according to detectives. Authorities brought in a canine but the dog lost the scent in the rain.

The suspect remains at large. He's described as a heavy-set African-American man wearing a long sleeve white shirt and blue jeans. Troopers hope cell phones found inside the car will help identify him.

Authorities also found a gun, cash and marijuana inside the stolen vehicle. The car had been stolen out of Scottsdale Arizona, some 1,800 miles away. It was then sold in a fraudulent transaction in Chicago, and had fake Texas tags on it when it crashed in Buckhead.