Man crashes car, dies after fleeing Perry police after traffic stop

A man who fled from Perry police after a traffic stop died after he crashed his car in south Houston County.

Leroy Miller Jr., 36, of Warner Robins, was pronounced dead early Tuesday morning at the scene of the crash, said Houston County Coroner Danny Galpin.

Miller, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from his Mercury Grand Marquis after he left the roadway and struck a tree off Klondike Road near the Pulaski County line, Perry police said.

Although the official time of death is 12:55 a.m. Tuesday, Miller likely died immediately upon impact, Galpin said. The Georgia State Patrol estimated the time of the crash at 11:32 p.m. Monday, Georgia State Patrol Sgt. Craig Smith said in an email.

Nine minutes earlier, Miller had been pulled over at Courtney Hodges Boulevard and Gardner Drive for loud music and not having a vehicle tag, Perry police Chief Steve Lynn said.

As Perry police Lt. Bruce Ham approached the car, he saw that Miller was not wearing a seat belt and asked for his driver’s license.

“(Miller) waited until the officer was alongside the vehicle and then he took off at a high rate of speed, ran through some intersections,” Lynn said. Perry police Officer Hans Welliver later intercepted Miller and followed him until he wrecked.

“The officer who was pursuing him did not observe the wreck because (Miller) was a good ways ahead of him at that time,” Lynn said.

The route of the chase was from Courtney Hodges Boulevard to South Perry Parkway to Elko Road to Grovania Road to Klondike Road, Lynn said.

The crash initially was investigated by GSP Trooper Chris Moinipour. Efforts to reach him were unsuccessful Tuesday.

Lynn said he asked an accident reconstruction team from the Houston County Sheriff’s Office to also investigate the crash, which did not meet the GSP’s criteria for review by a GSP accident reconstruction team.

He said the team may be able to estimate the speed Miller was traveling when he wrecked.

Also, Perry police are conducting an internal review, which is standard operating policy in any police pursuit, Lynn said.

Both officers, who work nights, are on administrative leave in order to be able be interviewed by investigators looking into the crash, Lynn said.

“We will thoroughly investigate it,” Lynn said. “It will be transparent. We will make the results available when we have them.”

This story was originally published May 10, 2016 at 4:04 PM with the headline "Man crashes car, dies after fleeing Perry police after traffic stop."