(Duluth, Ga., June 24, 2024) – The Gwinnett County Police Department arrested a 21-year-old man from Lawrenceville for attempting to elude officers while having a small child in his vehicle.

On June 14, officers were participating in a detail targeting racing, reckless driving, and DUI, conducted over five days in June. At approximately 1:00 a.m., an officer assigned to our DUI task force spotted a black BMW traveling on Interstate 85 at a high rate of speed. When the officer attempted to initiate a pullover on the suspect vehicle, it fled from the officer at a high rate of speed. Officers from our Aviation unit were able to locate the suspect vehicle moments later as it exited onto Pleasant Hill Road with its headlights off. Our aviation unit continued to track the vehicle's location as it attempted to elude officers at a high rate of speed. Ultimately the vehicle was tracked to a residential neighborhood in the city of Duluth where the driver was seen fleeing the vehicle with a two-year-old child. Officers on the perimeter quickly made contact with the suspected driver and detained him. The driver was identified as Alessio Vaduva (age 21, Lawrenceville). Alessio was arrested and booked into the Gwinnett County Jail and charged with felony fleeing and eluding, reckless driving, speeding, unsafe lane change, driving without headlights, defective tires, operating unsafe vehicle, failure to obey traffic control device, child restraint violation, and duty upon striking fixture. The child was released to a family member and was unharmed.

During the five days of the detail, 485 traffic stops were conducted, resulting in 658 citations issued, including 36 for DUI and 10 for reckless driving.

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