South Carolina: Vehicle crashed after almost striking Richland deputy; occupants fled

After a driver almost struck a deputy Sunday morning, two passengers are in police custody and the driver is still at large, officials said Monday.

The incident happened just before 8 a.m. Sunday at the intersection of Gervais Street and Milwood Avenue, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. A deputy was in the road – with his visibility vest on – directing traffic at First Nazareth Baptist Church, sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Curtis Wilson said.

A vehicle drove by at a high rate of speed and didn’t stop, so the deputy got into his patrol vehicle and pursued, Wilson said. There were three males inside the vehicle, which crashed at Oak Street and Haskell Avenue.

“All three fled,” Wilson said. “Two were apprehended.”

Deputies are still searching for the driver. The sheriff’s department turned the two passengers over to the Columbia Police Department after discovering a connection to a city case.

“This vehicle turned out to be carjacked out of city of Columbia,” Wilson said.

There were no injuries reported in the incident, Wilson said