Mayor of White, Georgia killed in motocross wreck, officials say

A mayor of a northwest Georgia town has died in a motocross wreck Saturday.

Perry Bell, mayor of the town of White in Bartow County, died from blunt force trauma to the chest, The Daily Tribune News of Cartersville reported.

Murray County Deputy Coroner Jonathan Sosebee said Bell, 54, wrecked and was struck by another rider at the Lazy River Motocross track near Dalton.

"It was an unavoidable accident," Sosebee said. "From what I understand, he was on a jump, and then he crashed on top of a jump. There was another rider right behind him, and he was unable to do anything … he wasn’t able to see him to avoid it."

Sosebee said Bell was too severely injured to be evacuated by helicopter and died at a hospital in Chatsworth.

Officials are investigating, Sosebee said, but no criminal charges have been filed.

Sosebee said the other rider sustained minor injuries but was released from a hospital hours later.

White Mayor pro team Gary Crisp will take over mayoral duties until a new mayor is picked in a special election.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.