A state investigation and police pursuit both surround the death of an elected official from South Carolina’s Pee Dee Region. Darlington County Coroner Todd Hardee says 49 year old, George Garner died after crashing his vehicle into an 18 wheeler.

The small Pee Dee town of McColl is left in mourning and with questions after the sudden death of its mayor. Officials said George Garner, who had recently been reelected as McColl’s mayor, died after a crash Tuesday afternoon in Darlington County.

McColl Mayor George Garner, who died in a two-vehicle crash on Tuesday, was connected to an active SLED investigation, an official told News13. South Carolina Law Enforcement Division spokeswoman Renee Wunderlich said the agency’s probe is “active and ongoing,