Injured Driver Jailed After Release from Hospital

A Lawrenceville man is now in jail on charges related to a .

Daniel Christopher Mitchell, of 695 Lookout Court in Lawrenceville, had been hospitalized since the accident. Mitchell is accused of crashing head-on into a vehicle driven by Karen Mack. . According to family members, Mack was recently weaned off the ventilator, but is facing additional surgeries to repair numerous broken bones and will need to go undergo extensive rehabilitation over the next two years.

Mitchell was booked into the Gwinnett County Detention Center on June 2. He is charged with DUI, possession of an open container of alcohol in a vehicle, failure to yield for an emergency vehicle, fleeing or attempting to elude, failure to obey a traffic control device, reckless driving, racing, failure to maintain lane, driving while license suspended or revoked, serious injury by vehicle and speeding.

He is currently being held without bond.

According to Gwinnett County Police Department public information officer Cpl. Edwin Ritter, officers were dispatched to the area of Braselton Highway and Hamilton Mill Road just before 8:30 p.m. on May 14 in response to a report of a possibly drunk driver being followed by a concerned citizen.

An officer located Mitchell’s vehicle and attempted to conduct a pullover, but Mitchell fled. Ritter said the officer chose not to pursue based on traffic conditions and concern for the safety of others.

A few minutes later, Mitchell was traveling northbound on Braselton Highway when he reportedly clipped a vehicle he was attempting to pass. Mitchell then crossed the center line striking Mack’s vehicle head-on. The accident occurred just south of Spout Springs Road.

It took fire crews over an hour to extricate Mack from her vehicle. Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services public information officer Capt. Tommy Rutledge said the long extrication was due to the entanglement of the Mack’s lower extremities in the wreckage. Mack was life-flighted to Grady after the accident.

Mitchell was also entrapped in his vehicle and had to be extricated. He was transported by ambulance to Gwinnett Medical Center with serious injuries. Two occupants of the car clipped by Mitchell’s vehicle were transported to another area hospital with non life-threatening injuries.