2 arrested for felony DUI in Jasper County after back-to-back deadly crashes 3 hours apart
After two separate fatal crashes occurred within hours of each other in Jasper County, state troopers arrested two drivers on felony charges of driving under the influence.
Ashley Quinette Brooks, 38, of Estill, was charged with felony DUI resulting in death on Sunday, the same day as a fatal single-car crash on a rural county road that killed one passenger and injured four people inside the car, including herself.
Malik Mitchell, 33, of Ridgeland, was arrested on the same charge Tuesday, according to inmate rosters from the Jasper County Detention Center. He was the driver during a rollover accident on I-95 that killed a passenger just three hours after the previous deadly crash.
If convicted, they would face between one and 25 years in prison and up to $25,100 in fines, according to South Carolina criminal statutes.
Both incidents remain under investigation by the South Carolina Highway Patrol, which handles most fatal crash cases in the state.
Sunday at 12 a.m.: Passengers injured, 1 killed in rural Jasper County
Ashley Brooks is accused of driving under the influence and causing a single-car crash on a rural Jasper County road early Sunday morning, fatally injuring 39-year-old Estill resident Tyrin Brooks.
The collision occurred around midnight Sunday on Cypress Branch Road (U.S. 601) in the area of Gillison Branch Road (S.C. 652), according to Master Trooper William Bennett of the South Carolina Highway Patrol. A 2016 BMW sedan with five occupants, allegedly driven by Ashley, ran off the right side of the road, struck a ditch, overturned and struck a tree, Bennett said.
EMS crews took the driver and four passengers to the hospital, where Tyrin died as a result of his injuries, according to the Sunday press release from SCHP.
Tyrin’s funeral arrangements had not been scheduled but would take place at Legay Funeral Home in Estill, according to his obituary.
It was unclear as of Friday whether Tyrin and Ashley Brooks were related. SCHP spokesperson Trooper Nick Pye would not answer questions on the subject, saying the incident was “still under investigation.”
Ashley was also charged Sunday with vehicle-related child endangerment, a charge applied when a driver allegedly commits certain traffic violations — including DUI — with a passenger younger than 16 in the vehicle. It was unclear as of Friday morning whether this accusation stemmed from the Sunday morning collision or an outstanding arrest warrant.
Sunday at 3 a.m.: Two hurt, passenger killed on I-95
Another fatal collision happened about three hours later and 15 miles southeast, claiming the life of 27-year-old Quandashi D. Busby, according to the Jasper County Coroner’s Office.
Malik Mitchell is charged with DUI in connection with the crash, which happened around 3 a.m. Sunday near the 16-mile marker on I-95, about two miles south of Ridgeland town limits.
Mitchell was driving a 2016 Audi sedan with two passengers inside when the car ran off the right side of the road and overturned multiple times, according to a SCHP press release.
All three occupants were taken to Coastal Carolina Hospital, where Busby succumbed to her injuries shortly after, according to Jasper County Coroner Jeremiah Vaigneur II.
A visitation for Busby’s family and friends will be held Jan. 27 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Yemassee’s Chapel of Young Funeral Home.
At noon Jan. 28, the Family Worship Center in Yemassee will host a celebration of life, followed by internment in the Jaxville Cemetery of Bluffton.
Busby’s obituary described her as a “beloved” young woman whose impact “is forever etched in the hearts of her beloved family, friends, patients and community.”
This story was originally published January 24, 2025 at 12:37 PM.
