Home invasion, kidnapping, police chase and shooting, and stopped traffic led to fatal Stuckey accident; service set

          A police chase and shootout and traffic tie-up led the to the accident that killed Dublin High principal Jaroy Stuckey and his family Sunday afternoon in Bulloch County.

          Stuckey, a Dublin grad and Irish basketball player who was part of a state title team in 2006, had been principal at his alma mater starting with the 2019-20 school year. He was married for six years, and he and wife Elysea had a three-year-old son AJ. Elysea Stuckey was also pregnant with a daughter due in May.

          A memorial is planned for Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Shamrock Bowl. Social distancing protocols are strongly encouraged. Dudley Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

          Police were called to a residence in Reidsville, a small town southeast of Vidalia, a little after 11 a.m. Sunday for a report of a home invasion and kidnapping at gunpoint.

          The family of the hostage tried to pursue the suspect – and shots were fired - and law enforcement took over the pursuit in Collins, just north of Reidsville.

          A shot from the suspect on I-16 in Candler County grazed a state patrolman’s head.

          In the pursuit, the suspect tried ram officers, and a PIT – precision immobilization technique – maneuver was tried several times. One was finally successful on I-16 in Bulloch County.

          The suspect, however, escaped with a hostage, who soon got away. The kidnapper was then shot by officers from several jurisdictions.

          Traffic was stopped, and that apparently led to the accident that killed the Stuckeys, when a tractor-trailer towing a tanker rear-ended their vehicle, igniting a fire.

          Suspect Kelly Shannon Bowen of Vienna He died at Memorial Healthy University Hospital. An obituary in the Cordele Dispatch states he was a commercial truck driver with family in Byromville, Vienna, Unadilla, Kathleen, Hawkinsville, and Cochran.

          A service is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in Vienna.

          The investigation will continue, the results to be turned over to the Ogeechee Circuit District Attorney’s office.