BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C.–Authorities have charged a Moncks Corner man in connection with the wreck that claimed the life of Derrick Lawrence on Wildgame Road Sunday.
According to Dorchester Co. deputies, 23-year-old Archie Lee Reid Jr. has been charged with failure to stop for blue lights.
Berkeley County Deputy Coroner George Oliver says Lawrence wasย pronounced dead on the scene following the single-vehicle wreckย over the weekend. He was a passenger in the vehicle.
On Sunday night, a BOLO went outย for a suspected intoxicated driver in Dorchester County.
According to the incident report, theย deputy spotted Reid, the suspected drunken driver, on Orangeburg Road and began following him. ย When the deputy observed the young manย driving on the wrong side of the road and was signaling incorrectly, the deputy activated his emergency lights and sirens.
A sheriff’s office report states that during the chase, the driver disregarded two stop signs and a red light, and drove his car at speeds of 75 mph.
During a pursuit, deputiesย stated that Reid then got onto Wildgame Road, travelling at approximatelyย 65 mph.
The responding deputy said when he approached the 1100 block of Wildgame Road he saw saw the vehicle go around a sharp curve. When he rounded the curve himself, the officer could see headlights in the wood line and smoke or steam coming from the car.
The deputy said the driver and passenger of the vehicle had been ejected with one of them, identified as Reid, conscious but disoriented.
Theย incident report stated that Lawrence, the passenger, appeared lifeless and “was beyond any help at that time.”
The South Carolina Highway Patrol and the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the accident.
