Woman, 69, dies after car runs off South Lumpkin Road and burns

A 69-year-old woman died early today after the car she was driving ran off South Lumpkin Road at the roundabout in Columbus, struck a tree and ignited in flames, authorities said.

Dorothy Starks of Phenix City was pronounced dead at 8 a.m. at the scene of the crash, said Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan. Her body will be transported to the crime lab in Atlanta for an autopsy.

Bryan said Starks may have experienced some type of medical emergency around 7 a.m. before her car ran onto Oxbow Meadows Golf Course and along the south side of the roundabout before striking a tree in the woods.

The air bag deployed on her vehicle and she was wearing a seat belt.

Shortly after the crash, a fire ignited beneath the vehicle . Starks sustained burns over 50 percent of her body but it’s unknown whether she was dead at the time of crash.

Bryan said more information will be available after the autopsy is completed. “I’m hoping she was dead before that happened,” Bryan said of the fire.

This story was originally published May 13, 2016 at 5:20 PM with the headline "Woman, 69, dies after car runs off South Lumpkin Road and burns."