Hancock County man killed in single-car crash

Published 11:00 am Thursday, December 30, 2021

WHITE PLAINS, Ga. — A 26-year-old Hancock County man was killed Wednesday morning after he lost control of his car and slammed into a tree after being involved in a chase with a deputy sheriff in Greene County, local and state authorities say.

The wreck took place shortly after 6:30 a.m. on Chico Road near Eley Road in the Greene County town of White Plains, according to information from Sgt. First Class Justin C. Howard, commander of the Georgia State Patrol post in Madison.

Greene County Coroner Jeff Smith confirmed the identity of the victim as Sanquan Montez Thomas, of the 1100 block of Covey Rise Farm Road, Sparta.

Smith said he pronounced Thomas dead on the scene at 7:30 a.m. The victim is believed to have died from blunt force trauma, the coroner said.

Smith said an autopsy is scheduled for later this week to determine the cause and manner of death. The autopsy will be held at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Laboratory in Decatur.

Investigator Capt. Lee Stancill, who also is a spokesperson for the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, identified the deputy involved in the incident as Sgt. Josh Wilson.

Stancill said Wilson was patrolling along Ga. Route 15 South in White Plains and that while traveling southbound he spotted the driver of a car driving recklessly at a high rate of speed in a 35 mph speed zone. At the time, the car’s high beam headlights were also on.

“When Sgt. Wilson turned around to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle, it appeared to increase its speed,” Stancill said. “As he approached the community center in White Plains, he (Wilson) observed it (the car) traveling at an extremely high rate of speed in an apparent attempt to flee.”

The sheriff’s spokesman said the car nearly collided with another vehicle near Holcomb’s Barbecue and that the driver then turned quickly down Thompson Road.

“Due to the high rate of speed, Sgt. Wilson was unable to determine a make, model or color of the vehicle,” Stancill said. “The vehicle continued down Thompson Road at speeds above 90 mph and approached the intersection of Eley Road and Chico Road where it continued down the dirt section of Chico Road.”

 It was at that time that the deputy lost sight of the car due to a large amount of dust created by the car, Stancill said.

The sheriff’s office spokesman said it was at that point that the deputy notified a 911 dispatcher that he was no longer in what was described as an active pursuit.

Stancill said Wilson returned to the area and began looking for the car to see if the driver had pulled off or hidden somewhere during the pursuit.

While looking along Chico Road, Wilson later spotted a wrecked car in a field adjacent to the road. 

“Sgt. Wilson made contact with the sole occupant of the vehicle, who was unresponsive,” Stancill said. 

At that time, the deputy began performing CPR on the victim until area firefighters/first responders and personnel with the Greene County Emergency Medical Services arrived on the scene and began emergency medical treatment.

The investigation of the crash was turned over to the Georgia State Patrol.

Trooper First Class 1 Tyler Easter, who investigated the crash and the circumstances leading up to it that the deputy had seen the driver commit two traffic violations before initiating a pursuit. Those two infractions included speeding at an estimated 60 mph in a 35 mph speed zone and driving with his high-beam headlights while approaching the deputy’s patrol vehicle.

The fatal crash remains under investigation by the Georgia State Patrol.