Speeding driver was swiping through Tinder before deadly crash, SC official says
A man who was using social media on his phone when he was involved in a fatal multi-vehicle crash is going to prison, according to the 9th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
On Monday, 32-year-old Melvin Otto Lamb III pleaded guilty in a Charleston County courtroom to a reckless homicide charge from the 2021 wreck, the solicitor’s office said in a news release.
Judge Roger Young Sr., sentenced Lamb to a 3-year sentence in a South Carolina Department of Corrections prison, according to the release. That will be followed by 5 years of probation, the solicitor’s office said.
Lamb pleaded guilty to the charge just before jury selection was scheduled to begin his trial Monday, according to the release.
The conviction stems from a nine-vehicle collision in Mount Pleasant on June 12, 2021, the solicitor’s office said.
Lamb was driving a 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe north on U.S. 17, near the intersection with Hamlin Road, when he crashed into the victim’s 2019 Chevy Trax, according to the release. That’s about 10 miles from Charleston.
The victim had stopped at a red light at that intersection and was waiting for the signal change when the crash occurred, the solicitor’s office said. The collision set off a chain reaction involving multiple vehicles, according to the release.
The crash data recorder from Lamb’s Chevy SUV showed that he was traveling at 68 mph continuously for the five seconds before crashing into the victim’s vehicle — without turning or applying the brakes at any point, the solicitor’s office said. The speed limit was 45 mph, according to the release.
Lamb’s confessions and a search of his phone showed that he had been swiping through Tinder and Snapchat, while also using Spotify leading up to the crash, the solicitor’s office said. Lamb admitted not knowing what happened in the crash because he had been looking at his phone, according to the release.
After the collision, Lamb and the victim were taken to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston where the victim later died, the solicitor’s office said. The Charleston County Coroner’s Office identified the victim as 72-year-old Charleston resident James Workman, WCIV reported.
Lamb was released from the hospital with minor injuries, according to the release. On July 21, 2021, Lamb was booked into the Al Cannon Detention Center, jail records show. Five hours later, Lamb posted a $50,000 bond and was released, according to jail records.
The Mount Pleasant Police Traffic Division investigated the crash with assistance from the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office.
Timothy Finch led the prosecution for the solicitor’s office, while Robert Wyndham was listed as Lamb’s attorney, Charleston County court records show.
Lamb has been previously convicted of a weapons charge in 2015 and found guilty of multiple speeding violations, including a 2016 arrest for going more than 25 mph over the speed limit, according to court records.
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