A Tennessee man has been identified as the fatality in a crash that happened on Highway 27 after a high speed chase.

According to Chattooga County Sheriff Mark Schrader, the late-night traffic stop ended in tragedy on Tuesday, November 12, when a high-speed pursuit resulted in a fatal crash. The incident unfolded around 11:14 PM near Highway 27, just north of Summerville, when a deputy from the Chattooga County Sheriff’s Office attempted to pull over a vehicle for a traffic violation. However, the driver failed to comply with the stop signal and instead accelerated aggressively, reaching speeds in excess of 100 mph.

The high-speed chase traversed through Summerville and ultimately ended in disaster near Trade Day, where the driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a fenced cemetery. Emergency responders arrived swiftly but were unable to revive the driver, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities have identified the deceased individual as 56-year-old Anthony Wayne Holcomb, a resident of Chattanooga, TN.

Preliminary investigations revealed that Holcomb had an outstanding warrant from another county related to a hit-and-run incident that occurred earlier this year. In a troubling development, deputies recovered approximately 2 1/2 pounds of suspected methamphetamine from Holcomb’s vehicle, along with a loaded handgun found beneath his hand in his lap.

The Georgia State Patrol is currently leading the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash, and officials are awaiting preliminary reports from the Georgia Medical Examiner’s Office at the State Crime Lab for further details.