The weekend crash that killed a popular Dublin high school principal and his family happened during a chaotic police chase that involved half a dozen southeast Georgia law enforcement agencies.
Dublin High School Principal Jaroy Stuckey, his wife and their son, A.J., died Sunday in a four-vehicle crash on I-16 in Bulloch County. The couple was expecting a daughter due in May.
The harrowing chase began in Reidsville after an unidentified man kidnapped a hostage during a home invasion and sped away on I-16, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Multiple shots were fired during the chaos, including one that grazed a state trooper in the head, officials said in a news release.
Tattnall County sheriff’s deputies and Reidsville police officers were the first to join in the chase after the kidnapping was reported shortly after 11 a.m. According to the GBI, the hostage’s family tried to follow the kidnapper until authorities caught up with him in Collins, a small city in Tattnall County about 30 miles southwest of Statesboro.
“Shots were fired by the kidnapper at the hostage’s family during the initial pursuit,” Lindsay Smith, the GBI agent in charge of the investigation, said. “The man fired at a Georgia State Patrol trooper on I-16 in Candler County, grazing the trooper in the head.”
He also tried to ram multiple police vehicles as the chase wound its way into Bulloch County, Smith said. After several attempts to disable the man’s vehicle, a PIT maneuver was successful and the car stopped on the side of I-16 in Bulloch.
“Once the vehicle was stopped, the man removed the hostage from the vehicle at gunpoint and then crossed a fence along the edge of I-16, entering the backyard of a residence,” Smith said. “The hostage was able to get free from the kidnapper, who was then shot by multiple law enforcement officers from multiple jurisdictions.”
Gunfire also struck a resident of a nearby home but the injuries were minor and did not require medical attention, according to the GBI.
Officers from the Georgia State Patrol, Tattnall County Sheriff’s Office, Reidsville Police Department, Evans County Sheriff’s Office, Candler County Sheriff’s Office and Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office fired their weapons during the incident, according to the GBI.
The resulting investigation temporarily shut down the westbound lanes of I-16 near Lanier Road, which led to the crash that killed the Stuckey family.
A tractor-trailer towing a tanker approached and rear-ended a car during the traffic slowdown, starting a fire. Stuckey and his family were in the car, which was pushed into a second tractor-trailer. Another car was also sideswiped.
Stuckey and his family were pronounced dead on the scene.
Stuckey was named principal of Dublin High in 2019. Monday was a day of mourning for all students and staff, according to the school.
About the Author
