Deputy crushed by falling pine tree while driving on highway, Georgia sheriff says

A Georgia deputy and father was killed when a falling pine tree crushed his vehicle, officials said.

Jamie Reynolds, a deputy with the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office, was driving east on Highway 16 around 5:30 a.m. Sunday, July 31, when a “large pine tree fell on his unit” and crushed the passenger area of the vehicle, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

Reynolds was killed instantly, the sheriff’s office said.

Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix said in the release that he and other officials notified Reynolds’ “wife and children of the tragedy at their home this morning.”

“The Spalding County Sheriff’s Office will be working with Jamie’s family, supporting them, and walking through this with them over the next few days,” Dix said. “We will continue to do so from this point forward.”

Reynolds had worked in law enforcement since 1995 and had been with the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office since 2021, according to the sheriff’s office. Most recently, he worked in the Office of Professional Standards and covered weekend shifts at the jail.

“He was a great guy who loved his family, had a deep faith, worked hard, and always brought you solutions, not problems,” Dix said.

The sheriff’s office said additional information will be released when it’s available.

“We ask that you keep Jamie’s family and his extended Spalding County Sheriff’s Office family in your prayers in the coming days as well,” Dix said.

Spalding County is about 40 miles south of Atlanta.

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