GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) — Two teenagers are dead and two people are in the hospital following a fatal crash Thursday night in Greenville.
According to the Greenville Police Department, around 9:37 p.m., officers located a stolen 2021 Kia Forte in the area of Easley Bridge Road and Andrews Street.
The vehicle reportedly failed to stop for officers, and a chase ensued.
Police said, while on Old Piedmont Highway, the stolen vehicle sped up.
Officers lost sight of the car and turned off their equipment.
Shortly later, the Greenville County Coroner’s Office responded to the area of Old Piedmont Highway near Grove Road.
Investigators learned that the vehicle was traveling towards Grove Road when the car lost control and crashed. Mike Ellis, Greenville County’s chief deputy coroner, said the car appeared to be cut in half.
“The car was totally destroyed,” Ellis said. “We do know the vehicle was traveling at an extremely high rate of speed when it lost control. It struck the cement pillar first, then they went through three telephone poles, fence, razor wire and then came to rest.”
(Surveillance video of chase that ends in deadly crash in Greenville County)
One person fled the scene before authorities arrived. They were later located by authorities.
Another person was pronounced dead at the crash site. The Greenville County Coroner’s Office identified that person as 16-year-old Dekiyas Antione Workman Jr., of Piedmont.
Two other individuals were taken to the hospital.
One of the occupants later succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The coroner’s office identified him as 14-year-old Jaedan Demone Pitts-Johnson, of Greenville.
According to Greenville County Schools, Workman was a ninth grade student at Southside High School. Pitts-Johnson was an eighth grade student at Hughes Academy. Grief counselors were available to students Friday, according to the school district.
A forensic examination has been scheduled for Friday for both teens.
The crash is being investigated by the South Carolina Highway Patrol and the Greenville County Coroner’s Office.
