Valdosta, GA- A pair of Valdosta residents face charges following a high-speed chase in a stolen pickup truck Sunday morning. Sheriff’s deputies observed a Toyota Tacoma with no plate driving on W. Hill Avenue at speeds in excess of 80 miles per hour.

When a deputy attempted a traffic stop, the truck entered the construction zone on West Hill before the driver lost control and crashed into a tree. The driver, 42-year old Don Juan Richardson, and a passenger, 51-year old Geraldine Pittman, attempted to flee the scene after the crash.

During the investigation by the deputies, it was learned that the truck had been stolen from a residence on Iola Drive earlier that morning.

Richardson now faces charges of theft by receiving stolen property, violation of the Georgia Controlled Substance Act, obstruction of an officer, fleeing and attempting to elude, as well as various traffic offenses. Pittman’s sole charge is theft by receiving stolen property. An unidentified third person in the truck was taken to SGMC for injuries sustained in the crash- their charges are unknown.