Police arrested a man who remained in jail over the weekend on multiple traffic charges when he wrecked near the intersection of Highway 278 and Highway 113 in eastern Polk County to end a high speed chase.

Polk County Police posted about the chase and arrest of Brian Antonio Tinch, 23, of 416 Wilson Ave., Rome, following the early Saturday evening chase.

Per police, Tinch was clocked going 102 mph near the intersection of Highway 278 and Yorkville Highway in eastern Polk County, and officers got behind him to try and attempt a stop. Instead, he sped up and at times hit more than 120 mph on the busy highway between Rockmart and Dallas.

However, Tinch was reported to have lost control and wrecked into the wood line near the intersection of Hwy. 278 and Hwy. 113 in Rockmart. His engine briefly caught fire, but police were able to put it out before anyone was injured.

Rockmart Firefighters ultimately were called into extricate Tinch from his vehicle.

He remained in the Polk County Jail without bond set as of this posting.

Here’s the full item from the Polk County Police on Facebook from over the weekend:

On June 4, 2022 around 17:08, Officers with the Traffic Unit & Uniformed Patrol Division were conducting speed enforcement at the intersection of Highway 278 / Yorkville Highway.

A Silver Ford Fusion was captured on RADAR going 102mph in a 65mph zone. Officers pulled out behind the vehicle, and attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle. Subsequently, the vehicle fled on Highway 278 towards Rockmart.

The vehicle continued to maintain speeds of over 120mph, and continued to drive in a reckless manner. As the vehicle approached the intersection of Highway 278 / Highway 113, the suspect lost control of the vehicle. As a result, the suspect crashed into the wood-line near the intersection.

The engine of the vehicle caught on fire, but was quickly put out by our officers. The driver (identified as Brian Tinch – 23yom from Rome, Georgia) was successfully extricated from the vehicle by the Rockmart Fire Department. Upon being placed under arrest, Mr. Tinch was transported to Polk Medical Center, and cleared for admission to our jail.

Mr. Tinch was charged with:

Speeding in Excess of Maximum Limits (M)

Reckless Driving (M)

Fleeing / Attempting to Elude (M)

Failure to Maintain Lane (M)

Driving without a Valid License (M)

False Name & Date of Birth (M)

Probation Violation Warrant out of Floyd County (F)

We would like to thank the following agencies for their assistance in this pursuit: Rockmart Police Department, Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia State Patrol, Redmond EMS, and the Rockmart Fire Department.