BARTOW COUNTY, Ga. — The driver who allegedly initiated a police pursuit early Monday morning and then died in a crash on I-75 was 16 years old, Georgia State Patrol said Tuesday in identifying both the teen and another driver who died in a secondary crash.
According to GSP, 16-year-old Jonathan McEvers was behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Silverado that "moved to the right and made contact with the Calhoun Police Department patrol car" during the pursuit.
After that contact, GSP said, the Silverado "left the roadway and struck the guardrail where the pickup truck overturned and struck a Buick SUV traveling north on Interstate 75."
McEvers was ejected in this first crash and pronounced deceased at the scene. The crash caused a second wreck as two following drivers tried to swerve out of the way, and in that crash 33-year-old Michael Stout of Ohio was killed.
According to the Calhoun Police Department, the incident began with a call about a possibly stolen vehicle. When Calhoun PD officers responded to a RaceTrac and attempted to stop the vehicle, the suspect now identified as McEvers allegedly "fled from the units."
Calhoun Police described the beginning of the wreck as the vehicle swerving into a Calhoun patrol unit, "causing the offender to lose control of suspect vehicle and come to an uncontrolled stop on the northbound lanes of I-75."
The other driver in the first wreck was also seriously injured and had to be life-flighted to a local hospital. The other driver in the secondary wreck had injuries described as not life-threatening.
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