Car leading chase crashes, leaving one person dead and another injured, SC cops say
One person was killed and another was injured late Saturday night when a chase involving law enforcement officers ended in a crash, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
The single-vehicle collision happened in Orangeburg County, said Lance Cpl. Lena Butler.
At about 11:30 p.m., a Dodge Charger was driving north on U.S. 178/Charleston Highway as the driver was trying to escape from law enforcement, according to Butler. Information about the speed of the vehicles involved in the pursuit was not available.
Near the intersection with Joe S. Jeffords Road, the Dodge ran off the left side of U.S. 178 and crashed into a sign post, Butler said.
The Dodge driver was airlifted to an area hospital, while a passenger in the car was taken by EMS to a hospital and later died, according to Butler.
The Orangeburg County Coroner’s Office has not publicly identified the passenger.
Further information on the driver’s condition was not available.
No other injuries were reported.
There was no word if either of the people in the Dodge were wearing a seat belt, but the crash continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol.
Information about what led to the chase was not available, and that is being investigated by the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety.
Through Dec. 8, at least 905 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2024, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Last year, 1,030 people died in crashes in South Carolina, DPS reported.
At least 44 people have died in Orangeburg County crashes in 2024, according to DPS data. There were 36 deaths in the county in 2023, DPS reported.
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This story was originally published December 16, 2024 at 9:20 AM with the headline "Car leading chase crashes, leaving one person dead and another injured, SC cops say."
