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Name Not Disclosed

Age :

Gender : Male

Race : Unknown

Date : 02/20/2022

Location : I-516 exit 8

City : Port Wentworth

County : Chatham

State : Georgia

Agency : Port Wentworth Police Department; Chatham County Sheriff’s Office

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Driver killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 02/20/2022, Port Wentworth police were conducting speed enforcement on Highway 21 near Grange Road when officers attempted to initiate a traffic stop on a vehicle for speeding. The driver, later identified as Samuel Hart Jr., did not stop and instead made a U-turn and continued southbound on Highway 21. Officers escalated a high-speed pursuit that police stated exceeded 100 mph. Police continued the chase along Highway 21 toward the Interstate 516 corridor. As the pursuit remained active, the driver attempted to exit at I-516 Exit 8. During the exit maneuver at high speed, the vehicle lost control and crashed. The crash was fatal and Hart was pronounced dead at the scene from crash-related injuries.
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The fatal outcome resulted from loss of control during an active high-speed police pursuit initiated from a traffic enforcement stop rather than a violent crime call. Officer identities were not publicly released in coverage of the incident, and no disciplinary action or criminal charges against officers were reported. The case remained classified as a pursuit-related vehicular fatality rather than a direct use-of-force shooting, with police decision-making centered on continuation of a high-speed chase exceeding 100 mph through a populated roadway corridor before the fatal exit crash.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.wsav.com/crime-safety/police-driver-dies-in-high-speed-port-wentworth-chase/
https://www.wtoc.com/2022/02/20/1-dead-after-high-speed-chase-chatham-co/