Bartow County man said he tried to kill mother before chase ended in crash: Police

A Bartow County man is accused of choking his mother and stealing her SUV before leading officers on a chase that ended in a crash, according to police.

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The incident began on Oct. 22 in a parking lot near a Publix on Cherokee Place, where the victim had allowed her son, Elijah Parker, 19, to drive her 2004 Chevrolet Tahoe despite not having a valid driver’s license, according to Cartersville police.

After the two switched seats so they could head home, Parker allegedly began choking his mother while she was in the driver’s seat and prevented her from getting out of the vehicle.

The woman told police she feared she would lose consciousness during the struggle but managed to escape and run to a nearby Five Guys restaurant.

After his mother escaped, police said Parker got behind the wheel of her SUV and drove away.

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The woman also told police that her son threatened to engage in a shootout with officers if they tried to arrest him.

Investigators used a phone location ping to track Parker and the stolen SUV to the Adairsville area, where police located the vehicle and attempted a traffic stop.

Police said Parker tried to speed away before crashing the SUV just past the Gordon County line.

An Adairsville police sergeant later told investigators that Parker admitted he had been trying to kill his mother but was unable to do so because she escaped.

Parker was arrested and booked into the county jail.

He’s charged with aggravated assault- strangulation, false imprisonment and theft by taking.

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