One dead after fleeing suspect crashes into traffic near Richland County school zone
Authorities have arrested a 25-year-old man after a fatal automobile collision Friday morning in the St. Andrews area of Richland County.
The wreck, which occurred off Zimalcrest Drive, happened after a deputy pursued a car that had been speeding through a school zone, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.
The car failed to pull over and drove into oncoming traffic near Browning Road and Fairhaven Drive, the sheriff’s department said. A collision followed, resulting in a motorist’s death, the department said.
Later on Friday, the Richland County Coroner’s Office identified the deceased driver as Ernest Kenner, 74, of Columbia.
Browning is a frontage road along Interstate 26 that runs into Fairhaven not far from Bush River Road.
Shylek Pringle, whose address was not immediately available, faces multiple charges, including speeding in a school zone, unlawful possession and driving under suspension, authorities said.
In a late afternoon news release Friday, the sheriff’s department said Pringle was out on bond at the time of the crash. That includes four separate bonds from multiple agencies, the sheriff’s department said. The sheriff’s department said he has had “an extensive interaction with law enforcement’’ that includes drug and weapons charges.
The S.C. Highway Patrol is investigating the collision and would decide on any charges related to the victim’s death, the sheriff’s department said. The crash tied up traffic for hours, Trooper Tyler Tidwell said.
Tidwell said the driver of a 2005 Honda Accord, who was not identified by name in a press statement, collided with Kenner’s vehicle, which was headed the opposite direction on Browning Road, while the Accord was fleeing from law enforcement. Tidwell said the Accord also struck a second vehicle on Browning, whose driver had to be transported to a local hospital for treatment.
The wreck occurred after the county’s traffic safety unit was conducting enforcement in a school zone in the 1000 block of Zimalcrest Drive about 8 a.m.
The suspect was to be booked into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.
Staff Writer Bristow Marchant contributed to this story.
This story was originally published December 2, 2022 at 11:10 AM.
