Paramedics airlifted a Clermont man to the hospital after a fiery motorcycle crash Monday evening in White County. 49-year-old Bruce Morgan suffered second-degree burns in the single-vehicle wreck on State Route 11 near Tommy Cowart Road. State troopers were pursuing Morgan just prior to the crash, but the Georgia State Patrol says they had already called off the pursuit when the wreck happened.
The chase began shortly after 8 p.m. on May 23 on GA 400 North near the Lumpkin County line. According to Corporal Cody White with GSP Post 37 in Cumming, a Dawson County sheriff’s deputy attempted to stop the 2001 Honda CBR for no tag. The biker, later identified as Morgan, slowed near the intersection of GA 400 at Burnt Stand Road, then “accelerated and failed to yield.” A state trooper who was following the sheriff’s deputy activated his patrol lights and siren and began pursuing the fleeing motorcyclist on GA 400 North to Highway 115.
“TFC Boykin began having radio issues near the White County Line and was losing visual of the motorcycle. TFC Boykin called the pursuit off via phone and radio at 2016 hours [8:16 p.m.],” says Corp. White.
Approximately seven minutes later, GSP reports the motorcycle crashed. According to the State Patrol, at the time of the crash, Morgan “was not being pursued by another agency.”
No other vehicles were involved in the wreck. The motorcycle was engulfed in flames, and Morgan sustained second-degree burns. AirLife transported him to the Grady Hospital Burn Unit in Atlanta with non-life-threatening injuries, says White.
The Georgia State Patrol initially reported the pursuit started over a ‘no registration’ violation but included a registration number in its report. Asked about that discrepancy by Now Habersham, Corp. White responded, “The motorcycle was registered but was not displaying a tag. The reason for the stop was for no tag.”
Morgan faces several traffic charges, including fleeing and attempting to elude and driving on a suspended license.
