MONROE COUNTY, Ga. — "It's kinda scary," says Captain Michael Ogletree with the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.
120 mph is how fast a patrol car went in October during a high-speed chase.
"I've gotten into a chase where a guy actually hit me and knocked me into a guardrail," says Ogletree.
Chases like these are common for Monroe County deputies. They can be dangerous.
"It knocked me over into a northbound lane and I almost got hit by an 18-wheeler. It was very scary," says Ogletree.
On Tuesday night, deputies chased a Lincoln sedan to a rest stop off I-75, until the suspects crashed into a tree. Before the crash. The two men fired three gunshots at the patrol car.
Ogletree wasn't behind the wheel in this chase, but he understands how intense they get.
"It's already scary when you're chasing someone, and then when you get shot at, that adds to it. If someone shoots at you, you don't know if the bullet is going to hit you or not, so it's intensified," says Ogletree.
Sheriff Brad Freeman says chases like these endanger the deputies, but also put the other drivers on the road at risk.
"Obviously, we sign up to do the job. We know that some guy going to the mall or something, he doesn't sign up for that, some idiot running from us and does something foolish and it causes him to be killed or injured," says Freeman.
The sheriff's office had two chases in one week in October. Now, just one week into November, they had another.
"Hopefully, we'll go several months and won't have another one, I hope. I doubt it, but it would be nice," says Freeman.
STAY ALERT | Download our FREE app now to receive breaking news and weather alerts. You can find the app on the Apple Store and Google Play.
STAY UPDATED | Click here to subscribe to our Midday Minute newsletter and receive the latest headlines and information in your inbox every day.
Have a news tip? Email news@13wmaz.com, or visit our Facebook page.