Two killed in crash after high-speed chase identified by Richland County coroner
Two people were killed Monday in a fiery crash after a high-speed chase, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department said.
The driver and a passenger in a 2012 Ford Escape died after a head-on collision with a cement mixer, said Cpl. Matt Southern of the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Sara Hudson, 28, of Pelion, and Victor Addotta, 33, of Columbia, were identified as the people who died, according to Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford.
Information on who was driving the Ford was not available.
The collision happened at about 1:50 p.m. on Screaming Eagle Road, according to Southern. A section of the road, between Percival Road and Highway Church Road, was closed following the wreck, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department said.
The Ford SUV led deputies on a pursuit for about 16 miles, from Bluebird Lane in Columbia to Screaming Eagle Road, according to the sheriff’s department. The Escape was heading west on Screaming Eagle when it collided with the cement mixer traveling in the opposite direction, according to Southern.
The Ford went up in flames after smashing into the cement mixer, the sheriff’s department said.
The driver and passenger of the Ford were wearing seat belts, Southern said. Both died at the scene, according to the sheriff’s department.
It wasn’t known if the man driving the 2016 Oshkosh cement mixer was wearing a seat belt, but he was injured and taken to a Prisma Health hospital in Richland County, according to Southern.
Further information on his condition was not made available.
No other injuries were reported by the Highway Patrol or the sheriff’s department.
The pursuit began after a deputy saw the Ford had been spray painted in an attempt to alter its appearance, and the vehicle was operating with expired tags, the sheriff’s department said. It was later learned the SUV was stolen from Camden.
The people in the Ford tried to get away while throwing what was believed to be drugs from the car, prompting the deputy to attempt to stop the vehicle, according to the release.
The driver then led deputies on a high-speed chase and intentionally hit a deputy driving a marked patrol vehicle multiple times before the Ford turned into oncoming traffic and crashed into the cement truck, the sheriff’s department said.
Deputies immediately removed the driver of the truck and got him safely away from the burning Ford, the sheriff’s department said. Deputies put out the fire and attempted to aid the people in the Ford, according to the release.
“This was a tragic situation that could have been prevented had the driver just pulled over,” Sheriff Leon Lott said in the release. “Not only did the driver put our deputies in danger, that individual also endangered the public.”
The crash is being investigated by Highway Patrol.
“We will continue to work with the South Carolina Highway Patrol and the Richland County Sheriff’s Office to fully investigate this collision,” Rutherford said in a news release.
Through Tuesday afternoon, 55 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2021, according to the Department of Public Safety.
There have been at least four people killed in Richland County crashes this year, DPS data shows.
Overall, 1,025 people died on South Carolina roads in 2020, DPS reported.
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This story was originally published January 26, 2021 at 10:13 AM.
