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Michael Ryan Lee Manago

Age : 26

Gender : Male

Race : Black

Date : 02/12/2021

Location : Interstate 20 entrance ramp at Lee Road

City : Douglasville

County : Douglas

State : Georgia

Agency : Georgia State Patrol

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Passenger killed in police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

REASON FOR CHASE: A Georgia State Patrol trooper stopped a white Audi after its driver failed to move over for an emergency vehicle with flashing lights on Interstate 20. After initially stopping, the driver fled from the traffic stop and a police pursuit followed.

NARRATIVE:
On 02/12/2021, 26-year-old Michael Ryan Lee Manago was killed while riding as a passenger in a vehicle that crashed during a Georgia State Patrol pursuit in Douglas County.

A Georgia State Patrol trooper was investigating a crash on Interstate 20 when the driver of a white Audi failed to move over for an emergency vehicle displaying flashing lights. The trooper initiated a traffic stop.

The Audi initially stopped. The trooper requested identification from the driver and directed him to move the Audi to the gore area for safety. As the trooper returned to his patrol vehicle, the driver made a U-turn and fled back onto Interstate 20.

The Georgia State Patrol pursued the Audi as its speed exceeded 120 mph. After approximately three miles, the fleeing driver exited Interstate 20 at Lee Road and traveled north for less than a mile before making another U-turn.

Law-enforcement officers had blocked the entrance ramp to prevent the driver from returning to Interstate 20. The driver then entered the opposing ramp traveling in the wrong direction and collided head-on with an oncoming vehicle.

Manago sustained fatal injuries in the collision. The two 67-year-old occupants of the vehicle struck by the fleeing Audi were seriously injured. They had been returning home from a church function and sustained injuries that included a compound arm fracture and multiple foot fractures requiring surgeries and rehabilitation.

The Douglas County District Attorney's Office later identified Manago as the passenger who died in the collision. His obituary identifies him as Michael Ryan Lee Manago, born 10/16/1994 and died 02/12/2021, making him 26 years old.

Georgia State Patrol Trooper Monttez Shackelford investigated the case. Investigators reported finding weapons inside the Audi and determined that the fleeing driver did not have a valid driver's license.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System documents a fatal crash on an Interstate 20 ramp in Douglasville at approximately 12:45 a.m. on 02/12/2021 involving two vehicles, four people and one fatality. The date, location, vehicle count, occupant count and single fatality correspond with the independently documented pursuit crash that killed Manago.
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DISPOSITION:
The fleeing driver, Decarlos Douglas, was prosecuted in Douglas County. On 03/20/2025, a jury convicted Douglas of two counts of serious injury by vehicle, driving without a license and reckless driving. The jury found Douglas not guilty of the charge arising from Manago's death.

Douglas testified at trial that Manago had forced him to flee from police. Prosecutors stated that no surviving witness could corroborate that assertion. The two men had been longtime friends before the crash.

The prosecution requested a total sentence of 31 years. Chief Superior Court Judge Cynthia Adams sentenced Douglas to 15 years, with seven years to be served in custody.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/douglas-county-man-convicted-after-fatal-high-speed-chase-2021
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/60c8e3c0c8c58b5ccf540993/t/67e1c571613acf792e4c471b/1742849393575/Douglas%2BDA%2BPress%2BRelease%2B-%2BDecarlos%2BDouglas.pdf
https://www.cccarterfuneralhome.com/obituary/MrMichael-Manago
https://www.city-data.com/accidents/acc-Douglasville-Georgia.html