Kershaw County, S.C. (WLTX) - A three-county police pursuit topping speeds of 100 miles an hour ends with a driver dead and two passengers including an infant injured.
While the state Highway Patrol continues investigating Monday night's fatal accident, authorities say they believe they know why the driver refused to stop.
"He was under suspension. If he would have gotten stopped, he would have gotten a ticket for speeding and charged with driving under suspension. We wouldn't have a loss of life,"says Major Daniel Simon with the Lee County Sheriff's Department.
Highway Patrol investigators spent the day reconstructing the scene of the fatal accident on Interstate 20 East in Kershaw County.
Simon says the police pursuit began when 25 year-old Philip Miller of Douglasville, Georgia was clocked by a Lee County deputy doing 99 in a 70 mile an hour zone.
"The vehicle pulled over around the 116 mile marker into the emergency lane. As the officer pulled in behind him he sped off,"says Simon.
During the 30 mile pursuit, Simon says Miller got off at exit 131 in Darlington County and got back on the highway west bound back towards Lee County. Then at exit 101, he did it again.
"Went across the overpass again and got back on the interstate and headed east bound,"says Simon.
Deputies say about a mile down the highway Miller lost control of his 2003 Volkswagen Passat, slamming into several trees in the median. That's when officers discovered Miller had passengers in the car.
"Talking to the officers, when they saw that child in that vehicle their hearts went out to them and it's real hard for me to ask them to give statements to what they endured last night. But that's part of the job,"says Simon.
Investigators say one year-old Naomi Ward and 26 year-old Marcia Ward-Knox, both of Goldsboro, North Carolina were injured. Authorities say both were taken to the hospital. The one year-old was airlifted from the scene.
Investigators say despite the pursuit, deputies were acting in a safe manner.
"One of the vehicles in the pursuit was a Mustang and he could've kept up with the vehicle but safety is number one out on that interstate,"says Simon.
He adds that had Miller just pulled over, he'd be alive. "It's real sad that you lose your life over a driving offense,"says Simon.
Officials with the Kershaw Coroner's Office say Miller died from massive head and neck injuries in the Monday night collision.
There's still now word on the condition of the infant or the other female passenger.
Meanwhile according to authorities, Miller's car had North Dakota license plates. His drivers license was from Georgia.
11/4/2009 8:35:02 AM
