Driver leading police chase dies after crash that killed woman, SC officials say
Days after a crash that killed a South Carolina woman, another person has died, according to the Saluda County Coroner’s Office.
Rakeem West, a 35-year-old Batesburg resident, died Wednesday at Prisma Health Richland hospital in Columbia, Coroner Angie Rita said.
West was driving a 2005 Honda Accord that was leading law enforcement officers on a pursuit Monday, said Master Trooper Brandon Bolt of the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
At about 11:15 a.m. Monday, West was driving the Honda sedan west on U.S. 178, according to Bolt. It was near the intersection with Prater Road that West, who was trying to elude Batesburg-Leesville police officers, crossed left of the center line and crashed head-on with a 2022 Chevrolet Traverse that was driving east on U.S. 178, Bolt said.
Shirley Fincher, a 76-year-old Saluda resident who was a passenger in the Chevy SUV, died at the scene, according to Rita.
West, along with a passenger in the Honda as well as the Chevy SUV driver were taken to area hospitals, officials said. West died Wednesday morning from the injuries he suffered in the wreck, according to Rita.
Further information on the conditions of the two surviving crash victims was not available.
No other injuries were reported.
There was no word if anyone involved in the wreck was wearing a seatbelt.
Information about why police were trying to stop the Honda was not available.
The deadly crash is being investigated by the Highway Patrol and coroner’s office, while what led to the chase is being investigated by the Batesburg-Leesville Police Department.
Through Sunday, 733 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2025, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Last year, at least 948 people died in crashes in South Carolina, DPS reported.
At least four people have died in Saluda County crashes in 2025, according to DPS data. There were six deaths in the county in 2024, DPS reported.
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