Autopsy being performed today on body pulled from Lake Hartwell

An autopsy is scheduled today on the body of a man pulled from Lake Hartwell overnight and an investigation is ongoing.

WNEG’s sister station WLHR News received this press release overnight from the Oconee County, SC Coroner, Karl Addis:

A death investigation is being conducted after the recovery of a body from Lake Hartwell (Tugaloo River basin) at Fair Play near the SC / GA state line.

The body of an African American male was found within the jurisdiction of Oconee County.

At approximately 10 pm Monday night, Franklin County, Georgia sheriff department personnel initiated a traffic stop in the northbound lane of I-85 near mile marker 169. The traffic stop was initiated for a vehicle traveling at approximately 125 mph.The vehicle was a red 2014 Dodge Charger registered to a female individual in Greenwood, SC.

At the state line, on the bridge which crosses Lake Hartwell (Tugaloo River), the vehicle struck a second vehicle prior to hitting the bridge guardrail. The male driver exited the vehicle and was seen jumping from the bridge into the lake on the South Carolina side.

Deputies with Franklin County observed him attempting to swim in the water, called out to him, and attempted to throw a rope to him to grab onto.  However, he was last seen going beneath the bridge. Addis said the man’s body was located and recovered at approximately 2 am Tuesday morning 26ft of water.

“A tentative identification of the man has been made. However, deputies found two photo identifications with two different names on the body,” he said.

Addis said the man has distinctive tattoos which will be used for identification confirmation.

Addis has requested assistance from the Anderson County Coroner’s Office to utilize a digital fingerprint scanner in hopes of making a positive identification.

The Oconee County Coroner’s Office has also requested assistance from the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Department and Abbeville Police Department in an attempt to locate the vehicle’s owner.

So far, they have been unsuccessful at the time of this press release. WNEG News will continue to follow this story and bring you more information as it becomes available.