WALTON COUNTY, Ga. — New information has led authorities to re-examine the case of a woman who died in a car wreck 23 years ago.
On Feb. 17, 1996, Tracy Costley was driving to her mother's home in Loganville when her car went off the road on a curve in Walton County and struck a tree.
The car was traveling so fast that it went airborne and hit the tree about 5 to 6 feet off the ground, police said.
Costley was pronounced dead at the scene. She was 20 years old.
The Walton County Sheriff's Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation investigated the wreck and ruled it an accident. The case was closed.
But some 23 years later - a few weeks ago - Michael Rising, a cold case investigator with the Walton County Sheriff's Office, said a source provided new details on what happened the night of Costley's death.
The source claimed that Costley was being chased by a vehicle with several people inside. At one point, a weapon fired at her vehicle. Costley began driving fast, which reportedly caused her to wreck the vehicle when it hit a curve on Shiloh Road near Highway 81, between Loganville and Walnut Grove.
If that information was true, Rising said, Costley's death would be a homicide.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Walton County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Michael Rising at 770-266-1558 and leave a message or email Michael.rising@co.walton.ga.us. All contacts will be kept confidential.
Photos from the scene of Tracy Costley fatal wreck
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