Man dies after jumping onto I-26 from overpass during traffic stop

A man died after jumping from a highway overpass during a traffic stop late Friday night, according to a statement released by the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office.

Shortly after 10:30 p.m. a sheriff’s deputy pulled a car over for traffic violations on the Ashley Phosphate Road overpass in North Charleston. The car stopped on the side of the road, which passes above Interstate 26.

But during the stop the car’s passenger fled the vehicle and ran across multiple lanes of traffic to the side of the overpass, according to the sheriff’s office.

The man then jumped over the barrier, falling onto a westbound lane of the I-26 highway below. He was then “struck by several vehicles,” the sheriff’s office said.

The man, who the sheriff’s office say had several “active arrest warrants,” was pronounced dead at the scene. His name has not been released by the coroner’s office.

The westbound lane was not reopened until 6 a.m. Saturday.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division was requested to investigate the incident.

Ted Clifford

The State

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Ted Clifford is the statewide accountability reporter at The State Newspaper. Formerly the crime and courts reporter, he has covered the Murdaugh saga, state and federal court, as well as criminal justice and public safety in the Midlands and across South Carolina. He is the recipient of the 2023 award for best beat reporting by the South Carolina Press Association.