Columbia man driving U-Haul truck rams deputy during high-speed chase, SC sheriff says
A Columbia man was recently arrested on multiple charges after he led law enforcement officers on a high-speed chase while behind the wheel of a U-Haul truck, according to the Kershaw County Sheriff's Office .
James Lee Washington, 67, used the U-Haul truck to ram a a patrol vehicle involved in the chase, causing both a deputy and the U-Haul to crash, the sheriff's office said Tuesday night in a release.
The chase-turned-crash happened early Saturday morning, according to the release.
At about 4:30 a.m. Saturday, a deputy tried to pull over the U-Haul being driven by Washington on Bay Lane in Camden , the sheriff's office said. The deputy wanted to make a traffic stop on suspicion of DUI, according to the release.
Washington ignored the attempted traffic stop and drove away on the wrong side of U.S. 1, according to the release. The U-Haul avoided oncoming traffic as it traveled to Lugoff at about 80 mph, the sheriff's office said.
Deputies tried to spike the U-Haul's tires as it drove through Lugoff, but were unsuccessful, according to the release.
When U.S. 1 shifted from four- to two-lanes, deputies surrounded the U-Haul to attempt a maneuver referred to as a "rolling road block," the sheriff's office said. They were able to slow the U-Haul down to below 60 mph before Washington rammed a sheriff's office F-150 in the rear, according to the release.
The deputy lost control of his vehicle as it went spinning off the side of U.S. 1. before flipping on its side, deploying all airbags, according to the sheriff's office.
Information about the deputy's condition was not available, but the sheriff's office said the deputy "is doing well."
Following that collision, Washington lost control of the U-Haul and ran off the opposite side of the road from where the deputy crashed, according to the release. The U-Haul went through a wooded area and finally stopped within a few feet of a house, and Washington was immediately taken into custody, the sheriff's office said.
No other injuries were reported.
The South Carolina Highway Patrol is leading an investigation into the crash.
Washington was charged with DUI, driving under suspension, failure to stop for blue lights with bodily injury, malicious injury to property (more than $2,000, but less than $10,000), possession of stolen vehicle (value more than $10,000) and first-degree assault and battery, according to the release.
Bond was set at $56,639 on the combined charges, and Washington remains locked up in the Kershaw County Detention Center , jail records show.
"A lot of poor choices were made by Mr. Washington during this incident," Sheriff Lee Boan said in the release. "But making a (conscious) decision to ram a deputy was by far his worst decision. I thank God our deputy wasn't killed as a result of his decision."
