A 34-year Gainesville driver was fatally injured early Tuesday when he wrecked while being pursued by a Habersham County deputy. William Timothy Myers crashed on J Warren Road shortly after midnight on January 3, the Georgia State Patrol says.
Myers fled north on J Warren Road in a Toyota Camry while being chased by a marked Habersham County sheriff’s patrol car with its emergency lights activated. The fleeing driver lost control in a curve near Jack Edwards Road and ran off the west shoulder of the road. The Camry ran up an embankment and struck several trees before crashing head-on into a tree and overturning into a ditch.
Officials say Myers was unconscious and unresponsive when Habersham County Emergency Services and Cornelia Fire Department personnel pulled him from the wreckage. First responders began CPR at the scene. Habersham EMS transported Myers to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, where he died from his injuries.
Attempted traffic stop
Contacted by Now Habersham Tuesday morning, Sheriff Joey Terrell refused to comment about the chase and deadly crash. The sheriff’s office did release the incident report Tuesday afternoon.
In that report, the sheriff’s office says the pursuit began at the BP Station at 3834 State Highway 365 in Alto. Habersham County deputy Joey Chapman reportedly observed the car pull out of the gas station and cross both northbound travel lanes. The car then reportedly crossed the solid white line dividing the turn lane and came to a stop.
“The vehicle then made a U-turn on Highway 365 to go South Bound [sic],” the report states. “The vehicles [sic] passenger front headlamp was not operational at the time.”
Chapman caught up to the vehicle and attempted a traffic stop. The sheriff’s office says the driver, later identified as Myers, refused to stop. He allegedly led deputies on a high-speed chase, at times reaching speeds of over 100 mph through the south end of the county before traveling north on J Warren Road where he crashed.
“While EMS was rendering aid on Myers, a small baggy of suspected methamphetamine was located on his person,” the incident report states. Deputy Chapman took the suspected drugs into evidence and will submit them to the GBI for testing, the sheriff’s office says.
GSP’s Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team was notified of the crash but did not respond since no other vehicles were involved, says Georgia State Patrol Post 7 Commander Donnie Sadler. Troopers from Toccoa handled the investigation.
Both the sheriff’s office and GSP reports indicated Myers was the only occupant in the vehicle at the time of the crash.
Second chase in three days
This is the second police chase in Habersham County this year. The first occurred New Year’s night when Baldwin police say the driver of a Dodge Charger refused to pull over for a traffic stop. Police pursued the Charger through Demorest and Clarkesville before losing sight of the vehicle on Highway 17 and calling off the chase.
Law enforcement later located the vehicle parked outside a Clarkesville residence and had it towed. Officers were able to identify the suspect the next day and arrest him.
