A teen is dead and several are hurt after a driver sped away from a traffic stop and crashed into another vehicle, according to officials.
AIKEN COUNTY, S.C. — A 16-year-old passenger died and multiple people were injured on Thursday after a driver attempted to escape from law enforcement, ran a traffic light, and crashed into another vehicle, officials say.
Sergeant Tyler Tidwell with the South Carolina Highway Patrol said the crash happened around 8:40 p.m. on Sheraton Drive at Old Jackson Highway in Aiken County. Tidwell said a 2014 Ford Fusion was attempting to escape law enforcement while heading west on Sheraton Drive, and a 2021 Chevrolet Suburban was heading south on Old Jackson Highway when the two vehicles collided.
The crash sent four occupants of the Ford to the hospital, where one passenger, later identified by Coroner Darryl Ables as 16-year-old Jaquavis Baptiste of Elko, died. The driver of the Chevrolet was also hospitalized.
Coroner Ables said the incident began as a traffic stop by an Aiken County Sheriff’s Office deputy on Sheraton Drive at Atomic Road. Ables said the deputy was speaking with the driver when the car sped away. The driver then ran a traffic signal and collided with the Suburban. Ables said the deputy never initiated a pursuit.
Baptiste was pronounced dead at an area hospital around 9:20 p.m.
The crash is still under investigation by the South Carolina Highway Patrol and its Multi-disciplinary Accident Investigation Team (MAIT). The coroner’s office plans an autopsy in Newberry the following week.
