The 14-year-old who died in Wednesday afternoon’s collision was driving a truck that was reported stolen, according to the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety.
Diaquice Monroe of Whitman Street, Orangeburg, died at the scene of injuries he sustained in the collision, Orangeburg County Chief Deputy Coroner Sean Fogle said Thursday.
The crash is still under investigation, according to City of Orangeburg spokesperson Jennifer Van Cleave.
The crash occurred at 3:56 p.m. as a 2006 Chevrolet Colorado was traveling south on Chestnut Street “in an attempt to elude law enforcement,” according to S.C. Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Tyler Tidwell.
The truck collided with a 2020 Toyota Camry that was traveling south near S.C. Highway 33.
A passenger in the truck and the driver of the Camry were taken to the Regional Medical Center.
The owner of the Colorado reported it stolen Tuesday evening, according to an Orangeburg Department of Public Safety incident report.
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He’d driven it to the Original House of Pizza, located at 591 John C. Calhoun Drive, just after 6 p.m.
He told officers that he saw two juveniles walking from the direction of Craven Lane toward the restaurant and they “did appear suspicious.”
He left the truck unlocked with the engine running while he went inside of the business, the report states. It was stolen.
The man went back to his Whitman Street home and called officers at 6:20 p.m.
At 3:32 p.m. Wednesday, ODPS Sgt. Kevin Dukes received an alert that an automatic license plate reader on Chestnut Street spotted the stolen pickup truck’s tag, according to another incident report.
A few minutes later, Dukes saw the pickup on Chestnut Street.
Dukes was able to get his unmarked vehicle behind the pickup, with one vehicle between them, at the intersection of Chestnut Street and Broughton Street, the report states.
Dukes notified other officers that the truck was headed toward Columbia Road at a normal rate of speed, passing Old Riley Street.
Other officers began to arrive from St. Matthews Road.
At the intersection of Chestnut Street and Columbia Road, Dukes radioed that he was going to initiate a traffic stop.
He activated his emergency lights and siren, the report states.
At that point, the pickup “rapidly accelerated, pulling away from my vehicle to elude law enforcement,” Dukes wrote in his report.
“After we passed through the intersection and approached St. Matthews Road, we encountered moderate traffic in our lanes of travel and the stolen pickup moved to the left in the median and then into the first lane of the opposite flow of traffic,” Dukes wrote.
Two other officers – PSO Jeffery Rivas and Cpl. Eric Miller – were operating fully marked patrol cruisers as they approached the pickup.
Another officer, PSO Charles Owens, also attempted to pursue the pickup, but his “brakes were malfunctioning” so he let Rivas take the lead, he wrote in his report.
The pickup fled through a red traffic light at Chestnut Street and Ellis Avenue, followed by Chestnut Street and Magnolia Street, Rivas wrote in his report.
“The pursuit continued through Chestnut Street and Goff Avenue,” Rivas said. The driver of the pickup “began to lose control in the area of Chestnut Street and Belleville Road.”
At that point, the pickup struck the rear of a Camry “and flipped multiple times, causing the chase to terminate,” Rivas wrote.
Owens arrived at the scene and saw the juvenile passenger “attempting to climb out of the disabled truck’s passenger side window,” a report said.
Owens said the juvenile passenger stopped when officers approached.
Officers detained the passenger until Orangeburg County EMS arrived to transport him to the Regional Medical Center. He was later transported to Prisma Health in Columbia for further treatment.
Officers also attempted to assist the driver, but the driver’s side door was stuck.
Owens checked the driver’s pulse, “which was fainting,” he wrote.
The driver did not appear to be wearing a seatbelt and was unresponsive, Dukes wrote.
A woman, who was the driver and only occupant of the Camry, was trapped in the car.
She was “coherent and told me that her head was hurting,” Dukes wrote.
Firefighters removed the driver’s side door of the pickup. They were also able to free the driver of the Camry and EMS transported her to RMC.
ODPS crews remained on scene until 8:19 p.m.
Van Cleave would not provide information on the status of the officers involved in the pursuit, noting the S.C. Highway Patrol’s investigation continues.
“That is all of the information we have to release at this time. This is still an active investigation, and we will release information as it becomes available,” she said.
On Feb. 25, a South Carolina State University student and a graduate died in a collision near the location of Wednesday’s crash.
That crash claimed the lives of Zeleria Simpson of Charleston and Shemyia T. Riley of Greenville. Three additional students were hospitalized with injuries, according to the university.
The S.C. Highway Patrol alleges that crash occurred after a trooper noticed a 2015 Hyundai Sonata traveling at a high rate of speed in Orangeburg.
Fuquan Mekhi C. Hills, 23, of Greenville is charged with two counts each of failure to stop for blue lights resulting in death and felony DUI resulting in death and one count each of failure to stop for blue lights resulting in great bodily injury, felony DUI resulting in great bodily injury, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, unlawful possession of a firearm and open container of alcohol in the February crash.
The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the Feb. 25 collision at the request of the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office.
LCSD Capt. Adam Myrick said, “We’re looking into the crash in the intersection and using all investigative tools and sources at our disposal to ensure a thorough and impartial review.”
“We are not investigating the pursuit or what prompted it. Additionally, we will not be charging anyone as a result of our work. We will simply hand our findings from our crash reconstruction, in the form of a report, over to the Highway Patrol and the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office,” Myrick said.
S.C. Highway Patrol Cpl. Leon C. Porter, of Troop Seven, was the trooper pursuing the Sonata, S.C. Department of Public Safety Director of Public Affairs Sherri Iacobelli said.
He’s currently on administrative duty pending the review by the department’s Office of Professional Responsibility.
The SCHP said it won’t be charging anyone other than Hills in the collision.
Hills is represented by attorney Bakari Sellers. He couldn’t be reached for comment by press time on Thursday.
If convicted, Hills faces up to 25 years in prison on each count of felony DUI resulting in death.
Contact the writer: [email protected] or 803-533-5545. Follow on Twitter: @MRBrownTandD
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