Authorities say street racing led to a crash that left one person dead in western Barrow County Tuesday afternoon.
Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said deputies were called to the scene around 2:30 p.m. on Carl-Midway Church Road in the area of Governor's Ridge near the Town of Carl.
"We found a vehicle that had run off the road and impacted with a tree. The driver of that vehicle was deceased," Smith said. "His family, unfortunately, arrived on the scene, obviously very emotional. It was a tragic situation."
The driver who died was identified as Charlie Hych III, age 21 of Dacula. Smith said the crash was caused by Hych racing another driver down the two-lane road.
"We had multiple witnesses at the scene who stated that Mr. Hych and (Tyler) Wynn were racing...it was a drag strip if you will," Smith said. "It appeared that Mr. Hych had lost control and impacted with the tree and, ultimately, lost his life."
Wynn, age 22, also of Dacula, was arrested at the scene. Smith said the two knew each other and had apparently met at a nearby bank before racing.
Wynn was booked into the Barrow County Detention Center on a list of charges including homicide by vehicle, racing, reckless driving and a seatbelt violation for a 2-year-old child who was reportedly in the vehicle with him at the time.
"These rural roads and these country roads such as we have in Barrow County are not safe to do this on. It's not safe to do it at all," Smith said. "It's just a tragic situation. I hate it for the family, I'm praying for them and hopefully no one else will do it in the future, but we'll see."
