Officials in South Carolina say a rising number of staged automobile crashes are becoming a problem in the state.
The Post and Courier of Charleston cited authorities who said faked crashes were part of a scam that resulted in charges filed in November against 10 Pee Dee-area residents for insurance fraud involving nearly $300,000 in altered medical bills.
The newspaper also cited a report in which perpetrators of fake car accidents in Dillon and Florence counties struck each other with boards and threw each other into trees to create injuries they said happened in wrecks which authorities determined were staged.
Attorney General Alan Wilson said the problem puts innocent drivers at risk and costs taxpayers because emergency crews have to respond to the scene.
