Crash during police pursuit claims driver’s life
Published 4:57 pm Monday, December 27, 2021
MOULTRIE, Ga. — A Tifton man died Friday from injuries he sustained in a wreck the night before, apparently while fleeing Colquitt County deputies.
The Georgia State Patrol is still investigating the crash but released initial information on Monday.
GSP Post 12 Thomasville was notified of the wreck at 9:23 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 23, the GSP said. Colquitt County deputies were in a vehicle pursuit with a 2011 Kia Optima that was traveling north in the southbound lanes of Veterans Parkway.
The Kia entered the intersection of Veterans Parkway and U.S. Highway 319 (also known as Ga. Highway 35), where its front end struck a 2017 Nissan Altima in the passenger side, the GSP said.
Neither the driver nor front seat passenger of the Kia were wearing their seatbelts, the GSP said.
The driver of the Kia Optima, Malcolm D. Brown, 31, of Tifton, suffered fatal injuries and passed away Friday morning, the GSP said.
The passenger in the Kia suffered serious injuries and the driver of the Nissan Altima was also injured. The GSP did not release their names, so their conditions could not be determined on Monday.
This was the seventh fatal automobile crash in Colquitt County since Nov. 19:
• Kurt White, 13, died Nov. 19 when his fell from his ATV as it ran off Kilgore Road.
• Elijah Partain, 19, died Nov. 19 when his motorcycle hit a deer on U.S. Highway 319.
• James Hester of Tifton died sometime after a two-vehicle accident on Ellenton-Omega Road Nov. 19. His wife, Myrtice, was also injured.
• Aubrey Nichols, 19, died in a one-vehicle accident on Ellenton-Norman Park Road Nov. 25, Thanksgiving day.
• Betty Welch, 74, died Thursday, Dec. 9, following a two-car accident the previous day on Highway 111 near Unity Lane.
• Randy and Carol Saturday and Randy’s brother, David Saturday, died Dec. 11 in a single-vehicle accident on Highway 133 near the Doerun city limits.
In another vehicle-related tragedy, 91-year-old Colin White was apparently run over by his own tractor Dec. 14. Authorities believe he was trying to jump-start it while it was in gear.
