Suspect attacks I-16 drivers with metal rod, bites state trooper

CANDLER COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - A truck driver is hospitalized and a state trooper is injured after a strange incident on Interstate 16 early Tuesday morning in Candler County.

Jeffrey Days, 22, of Lawrenceville, faces a list of charges.

Investigators are still trying to piece together the details from a bizarre situation. After midnight, they started getting calls from drivers on I-16 of a man in the roadway. In fact, traffic had stopped because of him.

Investigators later learned he’d driven his car off the road. They say he told them he was trying to flag down sex traffickers and free the victims.

“The interstate brings some interesting cases to us sometimes. It’s common for us to get calls about a reckless driver or a road rage incident. But this is a little different,” Candler County Sheriff John Miles said.

Several truck drivers had stopped to check on the man. Investigators say he assaulted one of them, beating him with a metal rod to the point he had to be flown to Savannah for treatment.

Deputies finally got the suspect handcuffed. But at the jail, they say he bit the state trooper on the hand, requiring medical attention.

They’re trying to interview the man and run some tests to figure out exactly what’s going on with him. In the meantime, there are a host of charges in the case, and we’ll continue to follow this and bring you any updates.

While they continue the investigation, deputies say there is no evidence of human trafficking from anyone involved in the incident.

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