Hit-and-run driver killed after dragging officer during police chase, Georgia cops say
A driver was killed and an officer was hurt in a hit-and-run crash turned police chase on a Georgia highway, state investigators say.
The incident occurred May 4 after an officer with the state’s Motor Carrier Compliance Division saw a hit-and-run near Interstate 16 in Bryan County, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
The officer followed the driver, 29-year-old Walter Kye Herman, and stopped him after a brief chase, investigators said.
After speaking with Herman, the officer tried to put him in handcuffs, the GBI said. That’s when Herman floored it, dragging the officer one-tenth of a mile as he clung to the inside of the car, according to a news release.
The car struck a street sign and veered off the road down a steep hill, investigators said. The officer opened fire, causing him and Herman to be thrown from the car, according to the release.
Herman was shot and died from his injuries, the GBI said. The officer, who wasn’t named, was taken to a hospital.
Authorities said the shooting is under investigation.
Bryan County is about 230 miles southeast of Atlanta.
This story was originally published May 5, 2023 at 12:28 PM with the headline "Hit-and-run driver killed after dragging officer during police chase, Georgia cops say."