Georgia prison escapees reach end of their road in Tennessee

SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The end of the road for two inmates sought in the killings of their guards on a Georgia prison bus turned out to be the driveway of a homeowner in rural Tennessee, who held them at gunpoint until reinforcements arrived.

The focus of the manhunt for Donnie Rowe and Ricky Dubose suddenly shifted north of the Georgia line Thursday evening after the fugitives invaded a home in Shelbyville and held a couple hostage for several hours.

The man and woman "are lucky they're alive," Bedford County Sheriff Austin Swing said. "They told them that they would probably be dead in 24 hours and they didn't have anything to lose."

The fugitives tied the man up, and when he tried to break free, they tied him up tighter, putting socks on his hands so he couldn't loosen his bonds, Swing said. They also ate a beef stew the woman had been preparing, took valuables and clothing, and ordered them to concoct a story that would conceal their identities.

"They threatened them that they would be back if they didn't," Swing said.

By about 5 p.m. they were on the run again, in the couple's Jeep. Within 15 minutes, the couple managed to call for help.

Deputies soon spotted the car and began a 20-mile (32 kilometer) high-speed chase down Interstate 24 southeast of Nashville, Tennessee Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Bill Miller said.

Rutherford County Sheriff Michael Fitzhugh said the suspects fired shots, striking several cruisers, but his deputies weren't hit and didn't return fire to avoid endangering other motorists.

The chase ended with a crash near the community of Christiana, Tenn. With deputies in hot pursuit, the suspects fled so quickly they left their guns in the couple's wrecked car, running through trees to a nearby home, where they tried to steal another car, authorities said.