A Rincon man was charged with multiple offenses after speeding down a crowded street in Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day festival area, almost striking an officer with his car twice, and crashing it after fleeing Sunday morning.

Lonnie Devonta Carter, 23, of an Alison Street address in Rincon, was charged with reckless driving, driving with a suspended license, failure to stop at a stop sign, driving on the wrong side of the roadway, obstruction, fleeing to elude and failure to appear.

Jerome Cecil Hayes III, 24, of a Springfield Street address in Savannah, one of two passengers in the car, was held on a previous warrant issued against him.

According to the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department, Carter was driving a black 1999 Camaro Z-28 through the crowded intersection of North Fahm and Indian streets at a high speed and on the wrong side of the road about 3:13 a.m. when a Metro officer directing traffic motioned to him to stop and approached the car.

Carter sped backwards, almost striking the officer, who broke the driver’s side window with his asp baton. The car sped to Bay and Fahm streets, where it almost struck a tow truck that was blocking the road, and two officers approached again. But the car turned around and sped at the officer who pushed off the hood to avoid injury.

Other officers located the car wrecked and abandoned at Augusta Avenue and Interstate 516 where Carter jumped a fence while an officer grabbed and pulled off his shirt. He then hid under a portable classroom at Bartow Elementary School and refused to surrender until a Police K-9 prepared to join him.

Hayes was taken into custody nearby. Police found he had an outstanding warrant for failure to appear in court.