Wrong-Side-of-the-Road Driver Nearly Hits Cop

A local man accused of nearly striking an unmarked police car while driving on the wrong side of the road allegedly tried to hand over cash instead of his ID during a subsequent traffic stop.

The officer Friday about 3 p.m. spotted the grey Saturn that Charles Jeffery Gayton, 33, of Lewis Drive in Cartersville, was driving on Carson Loop off Cass-White Road near Interstate 75, according to the Bartow County Sheriff's Office incident report, attached.

Gayton allegedly crossed the double-yellow line alongside a white truck. He told authorities he was driving on the wrong side of the road because he was "only talking to his friend" in the truck, according to the report.

After allegedly speeding off, he pulled in a driveway in an effort to avoid being stopped, Gayton allegedly told police. They found a loaded firearm in the car, and discovered Gayton is a convicted felon with a suspended driver's license.

"Due to Charles's behavior, the tools and items in the vehicle, and his constant changing statements, I believed that he had been involved in committing a type of thefts in the area," the officer wrote.

The officer also reported Gayton tried to hand over cash from his wallet when asked for his ID.

"I asked him why he was giving me money instead of his ID card," the report says. "He again stammered and put the money back in and with his hands shaking pulled out a paper copy of a Georgia identification card."

Gayton was charged with driving on the wrong side of the road, driving while license withdrawn and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

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