Suspect disappears into woods after 130 mph police chase, car crash in Bluffton
Police and a team of bloodhounds failed to locate a suspect who allegedly fled from a traffic stop and crashed shortly after a high-speed chase in the Bluffton area early Wednesday morning.
The BMW sedan was pulled over for an equipment violation around 1 a.m. Wednesday near the intersection of Hidden Lakes Drive and Simmonsville Road, according to Eydie Moody, a spokesperson for the Bluffton Police Department.
The driver initially complied with the stop and had given an officer his license. But allegedly, he quickly sped away from the scene, later turning onto S.C. 46 (May River Road) and reaching speeds of “at least 130 mph” going westbound, Moody said.
Officers abandoned the pursuit after about 5 miles in the area of Rose Dhu Creek Plantation due to the suspect’s excessive speeds — but about one mile later, he wrecked his car into a “large tree,” according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office incident report.
The suspect allegedly fled on foot from the wrecked vehicle, where officers found a “small amount” of suspected crack cocaine. Bluffton police requested a Beaufort County bloodhound team to help track the man down.
Police searched within a perimeter “triangulated” around Palmetto Bluff Road, May River Road and Stoney Creek Drive, the report says.
The search was unsuccessful and the suspect had not been located as of Thursday morning, Moody said, although officers are aware of his identity because he provided his ID before fleeing the traffic stop.
