Marie Seuell

Name:
Seuell, Marie Nalani

Date of Booking:
06/04/2026

Reason(s) For Booking:
SPEEDING IN EXCESS OF MAXIMUM LIMITS (STATE SPEED AND ZONE LIMITS)

FLEEING OR ATTEMPTING TO ELUDE POLICE OFFICER

DUI – DRUGS AND ALCOHOL COMBINED

RECKLESS DRIVING

FAILURE TO MAINTAIN LANE

AGGRESSIVE DRIVING

FAILURE TO EXERCISE DUE CARE

FOLLOWING TOO CLOSELY

DISORDERLY CONDUCT

FAILURE TO MAINTAIN INSURANCE

ANIMAL CRUELTY

IMPROPER LANE USAGE

KNOWINGLY DRIVING MOTOR VEHICLE ON SUSPENDED, CANCELED, OR REVOKED REGISTRATION

FAILURE TO OBEY STOP SIGN

Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]

On Thursday June 6, 2026 at approximately 0216 hours, I, Officer Travis Emmert with the Byron Police Department, was traveling southbound on Interstate 75 near the 151 mile marker, outside the city limits of Byron. I was operating a marked patrol vehicle and traveling in the center lane when I observed a black Ford Fusion later seen bearing California registration [REDACTED] rapidly approaching from behind me at a high rate of speed.

Based on the speed of the vehicle and how quickly it closed distance on my patrol vehicle, it appeared the driver was not properly judging speed or following distance. The vehicle then abruptly swerved into the left lane to avoid rear-ending my patrol vehicle and passed me at a high rate of speed. I visually estimated the vehicle’s speed to be approximately 90 miles per hour.

After the vehicle passed me, I activated the front antenna of my radar unit and checked the vehicle’s speed at 95 miles per hour. I noted the vehicle did not appear to brake or slow after passing a fully marked patrol vehicle. Since the speed was checked outside the city limits of Byron, I radioed Officer Meeks, who I knew was near the interstate, and advised him of the vehicle. My intent was for Officer Meeks to observe the vehicle and check its speed once it entered the city limits of Byron.

As the vehicle continued southbound, I observed the driver make several rapid and unsafe lane changes. The vehicle moved in and out of traffic aggressively, changed lanes in front of vehicles with less than one car length of clearance, followed other vehicles too closely, and appeared to be closing distance on other vehicles without proper reaction time.

The vehicle’s driving behavior was erratic, unsafe, and consistent with a driver whose ability to safely operate a vehicle may be impaired by alcohol, drugs, or a combination of both. The driver’s excessive speed, delayed reaction to surrounding traffic, poor lane discipline, aggressive lane changes, and failure to slow after passing a marked patrol vehicle were all indicators that the driver was not exercising ordinary care.

Officer Meeks checked the vehicle’s speed at approximately 92 miles per hour near the 149 mile marker, within the city limits of Byron. Officer Meeks activated his emergency lights and attempted to initiate a traffic stop. The vehicle did not yield and maintained a speed of approximately 95 miles per hour with no indication that the driver intended to stop. The vehicle then accelerated to over 100 miles per hour. At that point, Officer Meeks initiated a vehicle pursuit. Officer Meeks was the primary unit, and I became the secondary unit, providing radio updates and information.

The pursuit continued southbound on Interstate 75. Speeds exceeded 100 miles per hour and rarely dropped below approximately 90 miles per hour. The vehicle continued to make high-speed lane changes near other motorists. Based on the time of night, traffic conditions, and roadway layout, the traffic volume on the interstate was light enough that continuing the pursuit was reasonable.

However, the driver’s behavior presented a continuing danger to the motoring public. The driver had already shown a disregard for lawful police commands, excessive speed, following too closely, unsafe lane changes, and erratic driving. Based on those facts, I believed the driver may have been impaired and that allowing the vehicle to continue without intervention would create a greater danger to the public.

During the pursuit, Peach County units entered the pursuit briefly and later discontinued. Houston County units also caught up to the pursuit but later discontinued. As the pursuit continued into Dooly County, I radioed for Dooly County units to intercept because I was running low on fuel and needed assistance to continue supporting Officer Meeks. Officer Meeks advised over the radio that he attempted two StarChase deployments, both of which were ineffective. Officer Meeks requested authorization to perform a PIT maneuver at approximately 100 miles per hour, but the request was denied by the supervisor due to the speed.

Dooly County units joined the pursuit with approximately four patrol vehicles. At one point, it appeared Dooly County units were attempting to box in the fleeing vehicle or perform a rolling roadblock. Their units moved close to the vehicle on both sides, but the vehicle was not successfully slowed or stopped. It was later relayed that Dooly County was unable to perform a PIT maneuver and that Crisp County Sheriff’s Office units were waiting near exit 104 to perform a PIT if the pursuit reached that location.

During the pursuit, the fleeing vehicle exited the interstate but quickly re-entered the interstate. While doing so, the driver failed to stop at a stop sign at the top of the exit ramp and continued fleeing. As the pursuit continued southbound, the vehicle began slowing from approximately 110 miles per hour to 100 miles per hour, then to 90 miles per hour, 80 miles per hour, 70 miles per hour, and eventually approximately 60 miles per hour. At approximately 60 miles per hour, Officer Meeks received authorization from Sergeant Williams by phone to perform a PIT maneuver.

Officer Meeks performed the PIT maneuver, causing the fleeing vehicle to spin out and strike the guardrail. The vehicle then bounced back into the travel lanes and came into the center lane. The vehicle appeared to straighten back out as if the driver was going to continue fleeing. Based on the length of the pursuit, the driver’s continued refusal to stop, the danger already created to the public, the suspected impairment, and the fact that the vehicle appeared to be recovering and preparing to continue fleeing, I believed immediate action was necessary to end the pursuit.

I observed a Dooly County patrol vehicle move along the right side of the fleeing vehicle while I was positioned on the left side. Based on the previous actions of Dooly County units, it appeared they were attempting to contain or pin the vehicle to prevent the pursuit from continuing. As the fleeing vehicle corrected itself and appeared ready to re-engage in the pursuit, I used my patrol vehicle to strike the rear left side of the fleeing vehicle. This pushed the vehicle toward the Dooly County patrol vehicle on the right side and pinned the fleeing vehicle between the two patrol vehicles, bringing it to a stop and ending the pursuit.

I exited my patrol vehicle with my duty weapon drawn and began giving loud verbal commands to the driver. The driver was later identified as Marie Seuell, a female and the sole human occupant of the vehicle. She was conscious and alert but did not comply with commands. I gave several loud commands for her to place her hands on the steering wheel. Her hands would briefly become visible and then not visible, and she continued looking around inside the vehicle. Due to the nature of the pursuit, the driver’s refusal to comply, and the fact that I could not rule out the presence of a weapon inside the vehicle, I approached the driver’s door.

The driver’s door was unlocked. I opened the door and observed the driver seated with her hands up near her chest. I gave her additional loud commands to place her hands on the steering wheel and to unbuckle her seatbelt. She did not comply. Although her hands were visible at that moment, she had already refused multiple lawful commands, and officers could not safely determine whether weapons were accessible inside the vehicle. I determined that temporarily incapacitating the driver through the use of a Taser was necessary to safely remove her from the vehicle and take her into custody.

I deployed my Taser 7. The probes struck the driver’s clothing, with one probe above the waist and one probe below the waist, achieving neuromuscular incapacitation. While the driver was incapacitated, I moved in, unbuckled her seatbelt, removed her from the vehicle, and assisted in taking her into custody without further incident. She was immediately placed in the recovery position and assessed by emergency medical personnel with Dooly County. The Taser probes remained in her clothing and were later removed without issue.

After the driver was secured, officers observed a large amount of miscellaneous cat-related items inside the vehicle, including a cat cage, cat food, cat litter, and cat feces. Officers then discovered two cats inside the driver’s floorboard area near the pedals. The cats were in an area where the driver’s feet and vehicle controls were located during the pursuit. Based on the high-speed pursuit, erratic driving, collision, PIT maneuver, and final vehicle contact, the driver placed the animals at serious risk of injury or death.

Georgia State Patrol responded and conducted the crash investigation. Underwood’s Towing responded from Byron, recovered the vehicle, and removed it to their impound lot. The animals were initially secured with the vehicle and later turned over to an animal shelter the following morning.

After the driver was in custody, I continued my DUI investigation. I observed that the driver appeared slow to respond, had slightly slurred speech, and made statements that were incoherent or did not make sense. The driver stated, in substance, that she fled because she lived in California and believed that if a female was scared of police, she was allowed to flee. Her explanation was not reasonable and further supported my belief that she may have been under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or a combination of both.

Due to the driver being involved in a pursuit-ending collision, the PIT maneuver, vehicle impacts, and the possibility of injury, standardized field sobriety evaluations were not performed. I did not believe it was safe or medically appropriate to have the driver perform divided-attention physical evaluations on the roadside after the collision.

Based on the totality of the circumstances, including the driver’s excessive speed, unsafe lane changes, following too closely, failure to maintain lane, failure to yield to emergency lights, continued flight, unusual statements, slow responses, and slurred speech, I believed the driver was under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or a combination of both to the extent she was a less safe driver.

I read the driver the Georgia Implied Consent Notice for Suspects Age 21 or Over and requested a blood test. The driver consented to the blood draw. I transported her to Atrium Health Navicent Peach, where a blood draw was successfully completed. The blood kit was submitted into evidence to be sent to the GBI Crime Lab for testing.

Further investigation showed the vehicle registration had been suspended for several years through the California DMV and that there was no valid insurance on file. The driver was processed at the Byron Police Department without incident and later transported to the Peach County Jail by the Peach County Sheriff’s Office.

The driver was charged as follows:

Citation #703001877 – Speeding
Citation #703001879 – Reckless Driving
Citation #703001880 – Fleeing or Attempting to Elude Police
Citation #703001881 – Improper Lane Usage
Citation #703001882 – Suspended Registration
Citation #703001883 – Failure to Obey Stop Sign
Citation #703001884 – Following Too Closely
Citation #703001885 – No Insurance
Citation #703001886 – Cruelty to Animals
Citation #703001887 – Cruelty to Animals
Citation #703001888 – DUI Alcohol/Drugs Combination
Citation #703001889 – Failure to Exercise Due Care
Citation #703001890 – Disorderly Conduct, City Ordinance
Citation #703001891 – Failure to Maintain Single Lane
Citation #703001892 – Aggressive Driving

Subject (Seuell) was arrested in relation to the charges listed at scene.

[End of Narrative]