Driver killed as pickup veers off highway, crashes into tree

A Milledgeville man died Tuesday morning in a Hancock County crash.

David Matthew Johnson, 48, of Little Road, was traveling east on Beulah Highway when he lost control in a curve and went off the north shoulder of the road just before 11 a.m., according to a preliminary report from the Georgia State Patrol.

Johnson's 2000 Mazda B3000 pickup hit a tree about 22 feet from the edge of the road.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Troopers found no evidence that Johnson ever applied his brakes in the crash on the rural road southwest of Sparta.

Liz Fabian: 478-744-4303; @liz_lines

This story was originally published December 27, 2017 at 1:31 PM with the headline "Driver killed as pickup veers off highway, crashes into tree."