Lawsuit claims fatal Rock Hill police chase injured passenger in drug dealer’s car
A passenger in a car driven by a convicted drug dealer, and involved in a fatal 2016 crash, has sued Rock Hill police and the city because the incident resulted in him being injured.
The suit is the second filed in the crash. The widower of a woman in a second vehicle, who died in the crash, filed suit and blamed police for her death.
Rock Hill police, in court filings, deny the claims of Xavier Davis, a passenger in the car driven by Stevie McClinton, the convicted drug dealer.
Davis claims he sustained “serious injuries” due to the “gross negligence” of police who were in a high-speed chase with McClinton.
Police said after the incident in September 2016 that there was no chase, and that officers had stopped pursuing McClinton before the crash.
Davis claims in the lawsuit that he was riding with Stevie McClinton in September 2016, when McClinton hit another car in which Virgina Bartell, 72, was killed.
Davis’s lawsuit says McClinton was disregarding stop signs and speeding, but blames police for pursuing McClinton before the crash at Heckle Boulevard and Crawford Road.
Davis refutes the police claim that there was no pursuit.
“Mr. Davis will say there was a pursuit,” said Jerry Wigger, a Charleston lawyer representing Davis.
Wigger also said he has “independent witnesses” who will confirm there was a police pursuit.
Davis was not charged with any crime in the case, Wigger said.
The lawsuit states police failed to abort the pursuit that led to the crash, “risking of lives of other individuals who were not involved in the commission of crimes.”
Wigger also is the lawyer for Virginia Bartell’s widower, who filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Rock Hill police.
McClinton was sentenced to 28 years in prison in November 2017, after pleading guilty to hit and run resulting in death, trafficking crack cocaine and eight other felonies.
After the crash in 2016, Rock Hill police issued the following written statement:
“Investigators were trying to stop 23 year old Stevie McClinton around 4:15 p.m. on Robinson Street when he sped off. McClinton was wanted by S.C. Probation and Parole, and the investigators had information that he was possibly selling drugs and firearms out of his vehicle. He was also to be considered armed and dangerous. When investigators identified him driving his 1973 Buick Century, they attempted to perform a traffic stop on Robinson Street by activating their blue lights and then their siren. McClinton accelerated down Robinson Street with the attempt to evade, and ran the stop sign at Robinson and Crawford Roads, turning right toward Heckle Blvd. At that time, officers turned off their blue lights and siren. They then turned right onto Crawford Rd. and were driving toward Heckle when they observed the Buick disregard the red traffic signal at Heckle Blvd. and collided with a 2013 Toyota Prius and pushed the Prius into a 1983 Chevrolet Pick Up Truck. The officers then reactivated their blue lights and siren to get to the intersection and render aid to the victims of the collision and attempt to apprehend Stevie McClinton. As the officers arrived on scene they saw McClinton exit his vehicle and flee on foot.”
Katie Quinn, spokesperson for the city of Rock Hill, said, “The Rock Hill Police Department and City of Rock Hill can’t provide information about the case due to the pending litigation.”
Lawyers for the police department, city and its officers involved could not be reached Friday.
minor criminal offenses did not take precedence over the risking of lives of other individuals who were not involved in the commission of crimesminor criminal offenses did not take precedence over the risking of lives of other individuals who were not involved in the commission of crimes
This story was originally published October 19, 2018 at 2:47 PM with the headline "Lawsuit claims fatal Rock Hill police chase injured passenger in drug dealer’s car."