A 20-year-old Bowdoinham man is dead after losing control of a car during a police chase that lasted less than 30 seconds in Woolwich Tuesday night.

The Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office says a deputy tried to stop a car speeding and operating erratically while traveling south on Rt: 128, River Road at about 10 pm.

They say when the deputy turned on the emergency lights and siren, the 2005 Hyundai Sonata driven by Kaleb Halsey passed another car that had pulled over, and then veered left, leaving the roadway striking a granite fence post before continuing into a ditch and striking a telephone pole.

Deputies say Halsey was ejected from the car during the crash.

He was taken to Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick and then to Maine Medical Center in Portland with serious life-threatening injuries. Halsey died early Wednesday as a result of those injuries.

Deputies say the car chase lasted 27 seconds and traveled about a half mile, before the crash.

Maine State Police are conducting an ongoing investigation of the incident.