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Christy Leigh Lawing

Age : 27

Gender : Female

Race : White

Date : 07/26/2021

Location : Intersection of U.S. Highway 41 and Shugart Road

City : Tunnel Hill

County : Whitfield

State : Georgia

Agency : Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Passenger killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

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REASON FOR POLICE CHASE:
Felony warrant and narcotics investigation involving the driver of the vehicle in which Lawing was riding. The Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit was attempting to apprehend the driver after receiving information alleging that he was distributing methamphetamine, was a convicted felon possessing a handgun and had an active Tennessee felony warrant for aggravated assault. Narcotics investigators requested assistance from Tunnel Hill police to stop the vehicle. No available account identifies Lawing herself as the subject of the investigation or the reason police initiated the pursuit.
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EVENT NARRATIVE:
On 07/26/2021, 27-year-old Christy Leigh Lawing of Crandall was killed while riding as a passenger in a Volkswagen Beetle during a Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office and Tunnel Hill Police Department pursuit. Lawing was not identified as the target of the narcotics investigation, the outstanding warrant or the attempted police stop.
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At approximately 3:00 p.m., Whitfield County narcotics investigators requested assistance from the Tunnel Hill Police Department in stopping the Volkswagen. A Tunnel Hill officer attempted the stop, but the driver continued driving away. The Tunnel Hill officer and a Whitfield County sheriff’s deputy pursued the vehicle with Lawing still riding as a passenger.
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During the chase, the Tunnel Hill officer used a PIT maneuver against the Volkswagen in an attempt to force it to stop. The driver regained control following the intentional police-vehicle contact and continued driving while officers pursued.
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The pursuit continued south on Georgia Highway 3/U.S. Highway 41. According to the Georgia State Patrol, the Volkswagen was traveling at a high rate of speed as it approached Shugart Road and attempted to pass multiple vehicles between the right-turn lane and right travel lane.
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The Volkswagen struck four vehicles before crashing into the rear of a tractor-trailer. The impact rotated the Volkswagen counterclockwise, and it struck one of the previously hit vehicles again before coming to an uncontrolled stop.
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Lawing and the driver were pronounced dead at the scene. Lawing was 27 and lived in Crandall, Georgia.
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Lawing’s role in the incident was that of a passenger. The publicly released accounts do not allege that she was the person police were seeking, that she had an outstanding warrant, that she possessed a firearm or that she was suspected of distributing narcotics. The police operation and attempted stop were directed at the driver.
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The police pursuit included a PIT maneuver before Lawing was killed. Although the maneuver did not itself immediately crash the Volkswagen, it constituted intentional police-vehicle contact during the same continuous pursuit that subsequently ended in the fatal collision at Highway 41 and Shugart Road.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The Tunnel Hill police officer who pursued the Volkswagen and performed the PIT maneuver has not been publicly identified in the available reporting. The Whitfield County sheriff’s deputy who participated in the pursuit also has not been publicly identified.
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SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/news/two-killed-in-whitfield-county-crash-after-police-chase/article_3e1dbe6a-ef07-11eb-a261-bf80c249d79a.html
https://www.newschannel9.com/news/local/two-dead-after-police-chase-ends-in-crash-in-whitfield-county
https://www.wdef.com/two-dead-in-whitfield-county-after-police-chase-ends-in-crash/
https://www.wdef.com/two-suspects-dead-chase-whitfield-county/
https://www.yahoo.com/news/updated-tunnel-hill-man-crandall-221700407.html