The driver of a Chevrolet pickup crashed and died while fleeing police on Interstate 75 in Houston County on Tuesday night.

Joseph Eric Moore, 44, of Centerville, was not wearing his seat belt and was killed when his truck overturned, Georgia State Patrol spokesman Gordy Wright said in an e-mail.

Moore died at the scene, Wright said.

A Georgia State trooper caught up with the chase near mile marker 140 just south of Ga. 96 after learning Macon police were pursuing a suspect on southbound I-75, Wright said.

The trooper initiated a pit maneuver and made contact with the truck which left the road, hit a guardrail and flipped.

“The truck crashed at the 137 (mile marker) southbound on 75,” Wright stated in the e-mail.

Mile marker 137 is between the Perry Parkway and Sam Nunn Boulevard exits.

Jami Gaudet, public information officer for Macon police, referred questions to Georgia State Patrol, but Wright said he did not know how the chase started.

Initial reports indicate the pursuit began near the Eisenhower Parkway exit in Macon at about 9:30 p.m., but Macon police have not released what led them to pursue Moore.

Telegraph writer Becky Purser contributed to this report. To contact writer Liz Fabian, call 744-4303.