Man who killed newspaper carrier for The State is going to prison, SC prosecutor says
Years after a newspaper carrier for The State was killed in a fiery crash that ended in a church parking lot another man is going to prison, according to the 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
On Oct. 29, Malik Williams pleaded guilty to a felony DUI (resulting in death) charge, the solicitor’s office said in a news release. Williams was sentenced to 10 years in a South Carolina Department of Corrections prison, according to the release.
Donald D. Wheeler Jr., a 49-year-old Columbia resident, died in the Jan. 9, 2022 wreck, Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford said at the time. Wheeler was a carrier for The State newspaper. The solicitor’s office said the crash happened at about 3:15 a.m.
The two-vehicle collision happened in the 2300 block of Leesburg Road in Columbia, near the intersection with Newell Road, according to the coroner’s office.
Williams was driving a 2013 Ford Escape east on Leesburg Road, the Columbia Police Department said in 2022. The Ford hit the speed of 111 mph, according to the solicitor’s office.
Williams attempted to illegally pass Wheeler, who was also driving east on Leesburg Road while delivering newspapers in a 2018 Hyundai Elantra, by crossing double yellow lines, police said.
But Wheeler was making a left turn onto Newell Road and the speeding Ford T-boned into the side of into the Hyundai, according to police.
Wheeler’s car was pushed about 50 yards from the point of impact, the solicitor’s office said. The Hyundai caught on fire and rolled into a church parking lot, with Wheeler trapped inside, according to police.
Williams was ejected from the Ford and taken to an area hospital, police said. Information on how long he was treated at the hospital was not available, but he wasn’t arrested until March 23, 2022, Richland County court records show.
Police said the drivers were the only occupants in their vehicles and no other injuries were reported.
At the time of the collision, Williams had a blood alcohol level of .18 — more than double the legal limit in South Carolina — and active THC in his system, the solicitor’s office said.
The deadly crash was investigated by Columbia police, led by Lance Cpl. Orlando Santos, according to the release.
Assistant Solicitor Nick Fowler prosecuted the case for the solicitor’s office. Columbia attorneys Bakari Sellers and Alexandra Benevento were listed as Wheeler’s lawyers, court records show.
In 2015, Wheeler was charged with speeding violations in two separate instances, according to court records.
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