On a Thursday afternoon in June of 2021, the flow of traffic on Interstate 75 in Tifton, Georgia, was interrupted by a chaotic scene. At approximately 4:44 p.m. on June 17th, the Tifton Police Department received calls reporting a vehicle accident and the sound of gunfire near the 59-mile marker. When first responders arrived, they discovered 52-year-old James Stacy Lumpkin, a male resident of Lenox, deceased at the scene.
The initial assessment by the Tift County Deputy Coroner could not definitively determine the cause of death, prompting Lumpkin's body to be sent for an autopsy to uncover the truth of what transpired on the busy interstate. The circumstances surrounding the incident, a combination of a wreck and reported gunshots, immediately suggested foul play, leading local law enforcement to treat the case as a homicide investigation.
The Tifton Police Department requested the assistance of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to lend their expertise and resources to the case. Investigators began the arduous process of piecing together the events that led to Lumpkin's untimely death. The investigation into the death of James Stacy Lumpkin remains ongoing. To date, no information has been publicly released regarding any arrests made or the identification of any suspects in connection with the homicide. The case continues to be an open investigation as authorities work to bring resolution to the violent end of a man's life on a Georgia highway.
