3 Dead In Wrong-Way Crash, Police Chase On GA Interstate

DALTON, GA — Three people were killed in a crash after a driver who was being chased by deputies drove on the wrong side of the interstate and slammed into a vehicle before hitting a tractor-trailer, the Georgia State Patrol said Friday.

The deadly crash happened around 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Interstate 75 southbound's mile marker 336 in Dalton, authorities said.

Whitfield County deputies were chasing a 2025 Hyundai Elantra when the car traveled in the wrong direction onto I-75 south and hit a 2021 GMC Canyon head on, authorities said.

The driver of the Elantra then continued northbound in the southbound lanes and hit the front of a JB Hunt tractor-trailer, causing the car to crash into a concrete divider and burst into flames, authorities said.

They added the tractor-trailer caught fire, as well, and stopped on the right shoulder of I-75 south.

The three occupants of the Elantra died of their injuries, authorities said. They were taken to the Whitfield County Coroner's Office for identification.

Three other people suffered minor injuries and were taken to Hamilton Medical, authorities said.

The GSP's Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team is assisting with the investigation.