Coroner IDs suspect killed trying to flee Richland County sheriff's deputy

One of the suspects who fled from law enforcement and was involved in a high-speed chase before his vehicle crashed on I-20 Monday has died.

The front-seat passenger in a vehicle that fled from a Richland County Sheriff's deputy after a shoplifting incident was killed when the driver attempted to smash through the fence on the interstate just before the 68 mile marker, near the Monticello Road exit.

Richland County Coroner Gary Watts identified the deceased as 31-year-old Marcos Aguinaga, of Jade Tree Drive in Hopkins. Aguinaga died of blunt force trauma, Watts said.

The Chevrolet pickup truck ran off the right side of I-20 and struck a fence, causing one of the fence posts to go through the windshield and Aguinaga.

The collision occurred at 11:59 a.m. according to Cpl. Bill Rhyne of the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

Aguinaga, who was not wearing a seat belt, was taken to an area hospital. That was where he was later declared dead, Rhyne said.

The driver, Calvin Garrett Liabastre, was also taken to a hospital for observation. When he was released, Liabastre was arrested and charged with felony DUI involving death. He was then taken to the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.

Neither Liabastre nor a third occupant, a female passenger, were wearing seat belts. The female passenger was not injured in the collision.

The female passenger was taken to Richland County Sheriff's Department headquarters after the wreck. As of 11 p.m., she had not been charged.

The incident began at the Lowe's at 7441 Two Notch Road, according to the Richland County Sheriff's Department. Employees notified a deputy about two suspects inside the store attempting to steal items. When approached by the deputy, the two suspects abandoned the items and got into a truck where a third suspect was behind the wheel, the sheriff's department said.

The suspects took off at a high rate of speed, driving recklessly out of the parking lot while ignoring the deputy who used blue lights and sirens in an attempt to get the driver to pull over.

After the crash, it was discovered that the truck was stolen out of Berkley County, and had additional stolen items inside it from other locations, according to the sheriff's department.

This story was originally published March 26, 2018 at 11:17 PM with the headline "Coroner IDs suspect killed trying to flee Richland County sheriff's deputy."