Dash camera video from police chase shows moments leading up to deadly Liberty Co. wreck

Georgia State Patrol is investigating after four people died in a crash following a police...
Georgia State Patrol is investigating after four people died in a crash following a police chase in Liberty County.(Coastal News Service)
Updated: Jan. 13, 2020 at 5:53 PM EST
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LIBERTY COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - Georgia State Patrol is investigating after four people died in a crash following a police chase in Liberty County.

The Liberty County Coroner’s Office has identified the victims involved in the fatal wreck.

All three passengers, two males and one female, in the Nissan died at the scene. The driver of the Nissan was 19-year-old male Jonathan Kennedy from Savannah. The male passenger was 32-year-old Thomas Gordon, Jr. from Savannah, and the female passenger was 40-year-old Alie Dossey from Midway.

Georgia State Patrol confirms they are investigating the crash. They say the call came in around 2:05 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.

The Liberty County Sheriff’s Office released dash camera video of deputies attempting to pull over the Nissan. The video cuts off before the Nissan crashes into the Audi.

Liberty County deputies attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a white Nissan Sentra they believed was stolen from Savannah.

They attempted to pull the driver over near 196 east in Liberty County. The driver refused to stop and fled. At one point the driver crossed the median and began driving east in westbound lanes. Deputies remained in the eastbound lanes but continued to follow.

Dash camera video shows this was not a high speed chase.

They say it ended on Leroy Coffer Highway, near Arcadia Drive after the Nissan hit a black Audi.

A passenger in that black Audi died. He has been identified as 43-year-old Sergeant First Class Jimmy Altamirano.

A representative from Fort Stewart provided a statement on the crash on Sunday.

Sheriff Steve Sikes with Liberty County made it very clear on how they determine whether to start chasing someone no matter what speed they’re going.

He says it’s always hard when it comes to tragic situations like this, but clearly the driver of the Nissan and the passengers had something to hide.

“Most of the time it would depend on the severity of what we think the vehicle was doing. I mean where do you draw the line? We don’t chase somebody for jaywalking, but where do you draw the line? Could it be somebody’s child in there that was kidnapped, do you not chase them? Do you not chase a bank robber? Do you not chase a felony murderer? Do you not chase someone that has stolen a vehicle,” asked Sheriff Sikes.

Sheriff Sikes says he has talked to the deputy that was attempting to pull the Nissan over and he is doing okay.

A big question that was brought up during a news conference on Monday is the relationship the three people in the car attempting to get away from police had to one another. That has not yet been released.

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