NATCHEZ — A four-mile police car chase early Sunday morning ended with an unlicensed driver abandoning his car for a briar patch only to be pepper sprayed and handcuffed.

Natchez Police Department officers reportedly pulled over Fayette resident David Lamar Galtney, 21, Martin Luther King Jr. Road, at 5 a.m. on U.S. 61 North for driving without a license plate.

Galtney, who had a female passenger riding with him, handed the officer a Mississippi identification card and admitted he had no driver’s license.

When the officer told the driver he was arresting him for driving without a license, Galtney reportedly locked the car doors, put the gray Chevy Impala in drive and fled for four miles out of the city limits.

The car chase came to an end when Galtney struck a highway sign with the car after losing control of his car near State Park Road.

Galtney reportedly jumped from the car and ran into the woods, where two officers chased him and a third checked on the passenger.

The officer who made the report said he spotted Galtney crawling in a briar patch and sprayed his face with a one-second burst of a spray called Punch II. Galtney crawled out of the briar patch and was placed under arrest.

The passenger, who reportedly said her arm hurt from the collision, was transported to Natchez Community Hospital in an ambulance, and the Chevy Impala was towed.