Duluth Teen Dies After Tip Jar Theft, Police Chase: Reports

NORCROSS, GA — A Duluth teenager died Sunday night when he crashed his car into a pond while eluding police after stealing a tip jar from a Gwinnett County pizzeria, according to Gwinnett police and media reports. Gwinnett fire and rescue personnel pulled the teen, identified as Jaylen Purge, 18, from the submerged car and took him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The police are investigating the accident and the robbery, which occurred at about 6 p.m. Sunday at the Italian Pie restaurant, on Beaver Ruin Road just outside Lilburn, the AJC reported.

A police officer in a squad car spotted Purge's vehicle speeding out of the restaurant's parking lot, chased by several people on foot, and started pursuing him, according to a police report.

Officers tried to stop the car, but it left the roadway, crashing into the woods and disappearing from view near Steve Reynolds Boulevard and Pavilion Place, in the Norcross area. They found the vehicle in a stormwater retention pond, upside down and almost fully submerged, the police report stated.

The owner of Italian Pie said the tip jar contained around $100, the AJC reported. He and his brother chased the teen through the parking lot before he drove away, he said.

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