LUDOWICI, Ga. (AP) – A sheriff’s deputy died Thursday after his patrol car crashed during a highway pursuit in southeast Georgia.
The crash that killed Long County Deputy Sheldon Whiteman happened before dawn, shortly after he joined a police chase of a driver suspected of running stop signs, news outlets reported.
The deputy appears to have lost control of his cruiser, which veered off the roadway of Highway 57 and crashed in a wooded area, said Capt. Thornell King of the Georgia State Patrol.
Whiteman was taken to a hospital, where he died.
The chase started when a police officer for the small city of Ludowici tried to pull over a driver seen running stop signs at about 3 a.m., Ludowici Police Chief Robert Parker said. Authorities were still searching for the driver Thursday afternoon.