Deputy & Citizen Collision Leaves One Airlifted

Courtesy of The Toombs County Sheriff’s Office

An accident between a Toombs County Sheriff’s deputy and Lyons citizen left one woman in critical condition on Sunday.

At approximately 7:08 p.m. on September 17, Toombs County 911 Dispatch was alerted to a wreck involving a passenger car and a Toombs County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicle at the intersection of East Clifton Avenue and Reidsville Road in Lyons. Upon arrival, law enforcement discovered a black Dodge Charger in the ditch of the eastbound lane of Reidsville Road. The driver was ejected and discovered to be Renee Dupuis, 57, who appeared to suffer from head and in- continued from page

ternal trauma. Deputy Chase Barr’s patrol vehicle was found in the front yard of the residence at 367 Reidsville Road. After the collision, Barr managed to exit his patrol vehicle and began to render first aid to Dupuis. He also relayed critical information to dispatch to help prepare first responders for the severity of Dupuis’s injuries.

Dupuis was transported to the AirEvac base, where she was stabilized before being flown to U.S. Health in Jacksonville, Florida, where she remains in critical condition. Barr was transported to Memorial Health Meadows Hospital, where he was treated for a possible facial fracture, minor head trauma, and lacerations. He has since been released from the hospital and is on medical leave from the Sheriff’s Office.

After conducting a preliminary investigation, authorities have learned that prior to the wreck, Barr was en route to a report of a reckless driver that was responsible for an alleged aggravated assault, which had just taken place. The suspected offender was the driver of the reckless vehicle, and the alleged victim was also inside the vehicle, according to a witness who was following the pair while speaking with 911 Dispatch.

Based on this information, it appears that Barr was traveling east on Reidsville Road when he encountered several vehicles in front of him, which were also traveling east. Barr activated his emergency lights and proceeded to pass the vehicles while attempting to locate the reckless vehicle. As Barr neared East Clifton Avenue, Dupuis did not see the patrol vehicle and began to turn left onto the Avenue. Barr was unable to stop and struck the passenger side of Dupuis’s vehicle as it crossed the westbound lane to turn onto East Clifton Avenue.

The crash investigation has been turned over to Georgia State Patrol Post 18 (Reidsville). The Toombs County Sheriff’s Office shared its gratitude to the agencies and staff that responded to assist with the wreck, and asked that the public keep Dupuis, her family, and Barr in their prayers.