GA Deputy Fatally Suffers Cardiac Arrest, Crashes Vehicle

FAYETTE COUNTY, GA — A 62-year-old Spalding County deputy has died after suffering cardiac arrest while driving, subsequently crashing his vehicle in Fayette County, authorities said Wednesday.

A Fayette County Emergency Services staffer found Deputy Joe Crumpton's crashed vehicle around 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, the Spalding County Sheriff's Office said.

Witnesses told law enforcement that Crumpton "appeared to have some type of medical event" before hitting another vehicle and leaving the roadway, Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix said.

The staffer broke Crumpton's driver-side window and removed him from the vehicle, discovering that Crumpton was suffering cardiac arrest, authorities said.

First responders performed CPR and used a portable defibrillator to try to restart his heart, authorities said.

Crumpton was taken to Fayette Piedmont Hospital, where personnel worked for at least an hour to save his life, authorities said. However, he died while at the hospital, they added.

On Wednesday morning, his body was taken to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Crime Lab for an autopsy. A cause of death was unknown.

Dix clarified there was no vehicle chase involved in the crash, and no injuries were reported from occupants of the second vehicle.

Crumpton had been with the sheriff's office since May 2023 and was assigned as a transport officer for its detention division.

He and his wife are both Army veterans, and the couple has seven adult children, authorities said.

Funeral details were not immediately known.