UPDATE: 3 die in crash outside Augusta after an attempted stop for speeding

A dangerous chase with Augusta authorities on Friday turned deadly.

Georgia Department of Public Safety spokesperson Franka Young said via news release that a Blythe police officer tried to stop a Mercury Sable for speeding north on Deans Bridge Road when the suspect allegedly refused to stop. As they approached the Bath Edie Road intersection, the suspect entered the southbound lanes still traveling north. Young said the Blythe officer didn’t pursue the suspect on the wrong side of the road.

After traveling north for about a mile, the suspect hit a southbound truck head-on just north of the Etterle Road intersection. The suspect’s car caught on fire and became engulfed in flames. Richmond County Coroner Mark Bowen reported that the three occupants in the fleeing vehicle were pronounced dead on the scene at 8:45 p.m. An autopsy has been scheduled.

Positive ID of the occupants will be made after an autopsy is conducted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab. The crash report for this incident was not complete as of Saturday afternoon

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