A routine funeral escort on U.S. Highway 76 turned into a hazmat scene Tuesday after a Towns County deputy pulled over a driver who allegedly blew past the procession's emergency vehicles, and then found what authorities believe was a mobile methamphetamine lab inside the car. The traffic stop shut down the highway for hours while specialized crews worked the scene, and both the driver and the deputy ended up in the hospital before being released.
Deputy Jeremy Stanley was assisting with the funeral escort on U.S. Highway 76 when he noticed a Chevrolet Malibu fail to yield to the emergency vehicles leading the procession, according to CBS News. He pulled the Malibu over, and, per FOX 5 Atlanta, Stanley suspected the driver was under the influence of drugs and searched the vehicle. What he and other deputies found inside were materials believed to be consistent with a mobile, or “rolling,” methamphetamine lab.
Highway Shut Down as Hazmat Response Rolls In
Due to the risk posed by volatile and hazardous chemicals, deputies stopped traffic on the highway, FOX 5 Atlanta reports. The Towns County Sheriff's Office said the incident shut down the highway for hours while crews worked at the scene, and deputies called in additional assistance from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Clandestine Lab Unit to help process the vehicle, according to the same station's reporting. U.S. Highway 76 has since reopened.
Both the driver and Deputy Stanley were transported to the hospital for evaluation amid concerns about potential chemical exposure, and both were later released, FOX 5 Atlanta reported. The driver was then taken into custody on preliminary charges of driving under the influence of drugs and possession of methamphetamine, according to NowGeorgia. Authorities have not released the driver's name or age.
Sheriff Credits Deputy With Averting Worse Outcome
Towns County Sheriff Anthony Coleman said Stanley's quick actions may have kept the situation from turning into something far more dangerous. “Had it not been for Deputy Stanley's actions, people could have been seriously injured,” Coleman said, according to WSB-TV.
The investigation remains active, and additional charges may be filed as it continues, per NowGeorgia's report. Mobile meth labs have turned up in traffic stops elsewhere in the past, including a 2014 incident in Mooresville, North Carolina, that became a hazmat scene after officers spotted what they believed was a lab, prompting a response from Mooresville Fire-Rescue, the Iredell County Sheriff's Office and the State Bureau of Investigation, according to WBTV. For now, officials in Towns County have not released further details on what specifically was found inside the Malibu, and the case remains under investigation.
