A 51-year-old North Carolina teacher died at an Atlanta gas station during a high-speed police pursuit on Memorial Day.

Georgia State Patrol troopers attempted to stop Fre’shum Thai White, who was driving 90 mph in a 55 mph zone before the fatal crash.

White slowed his car as if he was about to stop, but he accelerated and led police on a high-speed chase that ended at a Shell gas station on Hill Street in southeast Atlanta.

Chatanna Patterson, a math and robotics teacher, was in Atlanta visiting her grandchildren over the holiday weekend. She was standing next to her sister Heather’s car when White lost control of his vehicle and crashed.

Patterson was pronounced dead at the scene. White’s car was totaled in the crash. Heather Patterson, White and a passenger inside White’s vehicle were injured and are being treated at Grady Memorial Hospital.

Patterson’s grieving family called for changes in Georgia’s high-speed chase policy.

“When do you stop putting people on high-speed chases, especially in the rain,” Tiawanna Patterson said. “Where I thought it was the law that they don’t do that anymore, but I guess it’s not. So when does it end? When do… how many people do we have to bury for them to stop chasing people?”

Safety advocates called on Gov. Brian Kemp to change the high-speed pursuit policy.

In May 2025, the Atlanta City Council approved a resolution for the State of Georgia to adopt reforms “that better protect Atlanta residents from unnecessary law enforcement dangers.”