LAKE CITY, SC (WBTW) – New documents reveal at least six people, including a deputy, officer and two children, were hurt following a multi-county vehicle chase that started in Lake City and ended in a crash and confrontation with the suspect in Kingstree.
The incident happened on December 20. It began when officers in Lake City initiated a traffic stop, according to police. An incident report obtained Monday by News13 suggests that the license plate on the suspect’s vehicle came back to a different vehicle.
Amy Pringle with Lake City Police told News13 that a police chase then ensued, with the suspect’s vehicle reaching speeds above 100 miles per hour. The new report indicates the suspect’s vehicle then hit another car and kept going. The chase continued on Highway 52 and through Kingstree, before the suspect’s vehicle eventually crashed into a building at Highway 261 and Eastland Avenue, according to police.
The driver was later identified as Wallace Sheron McCray, of Georgetown. When the vehicle crashed, McCray exited the vehicle and began to flee on foot from officers, according to police. Officers were able to catch up with McCray, who resisted arrest, according to the report. Police say McCray would not give officers one of his arms, despite several loud verbal commands to do so.
The report says officers then struck McCray with their hands to get McCray under arrest. Police say McCray continued to refuse to remove one of his hands from under his body so an officer used a Taser on McCray. Officers were able to get both of McCray’s hands in handcuffs at that point.
The report indicates that one Lake City officer and one Williamsburg County deputy were injured during the struggle.
Officers say they found a clear plastic bag containing a green leafy substance consistent with marijuana in McCray’s pocket, weighing about 10 grams.
Meanwhile, EMS and members of the fire department were assisting a woman in the passenger’s seat of the suspect’s vehicle, along with two small children in the backseat who were not properly restrained with child safety seats, according to the report. McCray said the passenger in the front seat was his wife. Officers noted ‘severe visible long bone breaks’ to the legs of the passenger. Medical personnel noted to police that one of the small children had spinal injuries and a possible broken bone. Police later said the children injured were 1 and 3 years old. All three passengers were airlifted to Richland County for medical treatment.
The report indicates the vehicle was stolen out of the city of Florence. It also indicates McCray had active warrants out of Georgetown County and had a suspended license.
McCray was eventually taken to the Lake City ER, where he was later cleared with minor injuries, according to the report. He was then taken to the Florence County Detention Center and booked on December 21 for the following charges:
- Failure to stop for a blue light, great bodily harm results
- Hit and run, property damage
- Operating or permitting operation of vehicle which is not registered and licensed
- Legal custodian, unlawful neglect of a child or helpless person (two counts)
- Assault, beat, or wound police serving process or while resisting arrest
- Possession of 28 grams or less of marijuana
- Child restraint violation
- Uninsured motor vehicle fee violation
He was at the Florence County jail until the night of December 27.
On the morning of December 28, McCray was booked into the Georgetown County Detention Center. He was charged with ‘interference, hindering officers serving warrant or rescuing prisoners’ and ‘driving under suspension, license not suspended for DUI’. He was at the jail until December 29.
News13 has reached out to law enforcement for an update on the conditions of those injured in the crash and confrontation. We are awaiting a response.
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