If you see a Mercedes-Benz G-Class, your first thought is likely that the driver is well off. The pricey SUV is also one of the most capable, but many of these things have never even touched a dirt road. You probably wouldn’t think someone would willingly wreck one, but as Atlanta’s WSB-TV reports, one G-Wagen driver did just that, using his six-figure SUV to wreck cars in a neighborhood.
The whole incident happened in a neighborhood in the Atlanta suburb of Duluth. The G-Wagen, driven by a 37-year-old, allegedly went through a wrecking spree in the otherwise quiet neighborhood. Multiple people in the neighborhood witnessed what happened with one getting video of the incident. One homeowner was home when he heard the Mercerdes crashing into his cars. When he went outside to inspect the damage he saw the bumper off on his van and his other car pushed into his garage door.
Another witness, a landscaper named Salvador Gomez, was working a job when he saw Humes and his G-Wagen on the rampage. He says he instructed his team on the job to hide. “I don’t know what to say but it’s really crazy. You didn’t know what he was going to do,” Gomez told WSB-TV.
Footage from the video shows Humes driving in people’s driveways to slam into their cars. Residents of the neighborhood say they don’t recognize the driver.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the driver was arrested not far from the scene:
About two hours later, the G500 was found abandoned at a tire shop around 4 miles from the neighborhood, police said. Officers found the suspected driver, 37-year-old Patrick Humes of Athens, at a McDonald’s next to the shop where the SUV was left.
Humes was arrested and charged with 28 felony counts of criminal damage to property, police said. He was booked into the Gwinnett jail where he remains without bond.
“Humes may have been suffering a mental health crisis at the time, though the exact motive for damaging so many vehicles is not known,” police said in a statement.
Authorities say he caused at least $14,000 in damages, though it’s not known if that’s the total for the damage done to the G-Wagen or the cars in the neighborhood.