Mayor of South Carolina town dies in head-on collision while being pursued by sheriff’s deputies days after entire police force resigned

The incident happened at about 2:40 pm on Nov. 26, when Garner veered into oncoming traffic and struck a Volvo tractor-trailer. He was transported to a local hospital and ultimately succumbed to his injuries. The tractor-trailer driver was taken to the same hospital to be treated for injuries, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol. Garner had just won reelection in the town of about 1,900 residents.

Garner was being pursued by Marlboro County Sheriff's deputies at the time of the accident, according to Darlington County Coroner J. Todd Hardee. "The pursuit was not related to any laws being broken," Hardee wrote in a statement on Facebook. "The pursuit was taking place in an effort to protect the well-being of Mr. Garner."

After Garner drove head-on into an 18-wheeler and died, Marlboro County Sheriff Charles Lemon told WBTW News13 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Wednesday that authorities were behind him but not "chasing him." He said that Garner's wife contacted the sheriff's office, which promoted deputies to follow his vehicle to investigate his welfare status.

McColl's police chief and four other law enforcement officers, who make up the entire town's police department, resigned last month, citing "unwanted and malicious behavior," in a social media post that has since been deleted. Authorities said Garner remains the subject of an active investigation but did not specify any details.