Run from law leaves man in watery grave

By By Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
A late night chase involving a father and son in a pickup truck and a Morgan County sheriff’s deputy in a patrol car led to the death of the father and the near-death of his son early Sunday morning.
Gary Wayne Brown, 43, of Lacey’s Spring drowned in a creek near Ditto Landing in Madison County after fleeing from the deputy on foot and attempting to swim across the near-frozen body of water. Rescue workers pulled his body from the creek at approximately 12:50 p.m. Sunday, nearly 12 hours after the chase took place. The temperature dipped to 20 degrees the night of the accident.
The victim’s son, Justin Brown, 20, also of Lacey’s Spring, was found unconscious by rescue workers nearly two hours after he jumped off of the creek bridge in an attempt to escape. He had managed to get out of the water and reach the bank but was suffering from hypothermia. He was transported to Huntsville Hospital where he received treatment and was expected to recover.
The chase began in Morgan County on U.S. Highway 23 at approximately 11:45 p.m. 1after the deputy observed that the pickup the two men were in had a broken tag light, according to Morgan County Sheriff Greg Bartlett. When the deputy pursued the vehicle with emergency lights flashing it speeded up and the chase was on. The truck crossed the Whitesburg river Bridge over the Tennessee River and turned onto Boat Dock Road, ending at a blocked creek bridge. Both occupants fled from the truck on foot with the deputy in pursuit. After they chose to use the creek as an escape route, the deputy radioed for assistance.
Bartlett said the younger Brown was later identified as having six outstanding arrest warrants, including one from Madison County for first degree robbery, on his record.
Emergency units responding to the incident were deputies and rescue squads from both counties, Lacey’s Spring Volunteer Fire Department and Huntsville Emergency Medical Services.