(Cleveland)- White County authorities have released information in connection with a weekend auto accident and subsequent incident in which a Cobb County man took his own life.
White County Sheriff Chief Deputy Bob Ingram said, the unidentified 43-year old male was stopped by a deputy for a traffic violation on highway 75 north of Cleveland. Ingram said, the man told the officer he was going to kill himself. The officer talked with the man for a while, before he then sped off.
Ingram said the officer followed the vehicle up Highway 75, but did not attempt to stop him. The driver ran off the right side of the road and hit a concrete bridge, south of Helen.
According to Chief Ingram, after the vehicle came to a stop in a ditch the man used a shotgun to take his life.
White County Corner Ricky Barrett said, the body was sent to the state crime laboratory, but it was pretty clear what happened and there were witnesses who saw the man wreck and got out to help and heard the gunshot.
The incident happened at 10:20 PM Saturday.
