Two people were hospitalized after the vehicle they were in ran off the road and onto the northbound bike path where it hit a tree on Hilton Head Island, Tuesday afternoon.
Around 1:00 p.m. a deputy with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Department attempted to pull over a car for failing to stop at a stop sign near 890 William Hilton Parkway near the Fresh Market grocery store. The driver of the car did pull over but then accelerated and sped off when he was asked to step out of the vehicle. The officer, who performed the traffic stop reported the smell of marijuana coming from the car, according to spokesperson Master Sgt. Danny Allen.
The officer returned to his patrol car and briefly chased the vehicle, but the pursuit was curtailed for safety concerns, Allen said. However, the driver continued to drive at a high speed, even driving on a nearby bike path.
Eventually, the driver struck a tree in front of Shelter Cove according to a witness. After crashing, the driver fled the vehicle on foot but was apprehended moments later. The driver and passenger were taken by ambulance to the hospital for treatment of their injuries from the vehicle collision.
According to Allen, the procedure in a situation like this is for the injured driver to be released from the hospital then he will be booked into the Beaufort County Detention Center and publicly identified. The driver will likely be charged with failure to stop at a stop sign, failure to stop for blue lights, possession of cocaine, controlled substances and marijuana and driving without a license. The driver may face other charges as well, Allen said.
The South Carolina Highway Patrol will investigate the crash and may have their own charges as well.
There was a passenger in the car who was hospitalized as well. The passenger was not charged with any crime.
More details will be added as they are known.
Source Agencies
