The Richland County Sheriff’s Department reported that three persons were hospitalized Wednesday morning after a chase in South Carolina culminated in an accident.
The sheriff’s department informed The State that the incident occurred around 9 a.m. on a stretch of Bush River Road near Dutch Square Mall in Columbia.
Deputies sought to conduct a traffic stop on a car with a tag violation, according to the sheriff’s department. According to the sheriff’s department, the vehicle’s driver, 53-year-old David Quattlebaum, refused to pull over and began a pursuit that lasted approximately 2 miles.
The chase ended when the pursued vehicle ran a red light and collided with an innocent bystander’s vehicle farther down Bush River Road, near the Woodland Village Apartments, according to the sheriff’s department. That’s near Exit 63 on Interstate 20.
According to the sheriff’s department, there were three occupants in the vehicle leading the chase, including Quattlebaum, and all three were injured and transported to an area hospital by EMS. Further information on the collision victims’ status was not available, although the sheriff’s department stated that none of their injuries were life-threatening.
The two people in the vehicle struck by Quattlebaum’s vehicle were not wounded or transported to a hospital, according to the sheriff’s department.
According to the sheriff’s department, Quattlebaum will be booked into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center on charges of using another license plate, driving while suspended (2nd offense), reckless driving, and refusal to stop for blue lights (2nd offense with bodily injury).
As of 1 p.m., Quattlebaum was not on the detainee roster, according to jail records.
The sheriff’s department reports that all of those involved in the chase and crash are adults.
According to Richland County court records, Quattlebaum was out on bond following his arrest on December 16, 2024, for using a vehicle without permission with the purpose to deprive, cocaine possession, and another drug charge for marijuana possession.
Quattlebaum also faces ongoing narcotics charges stemming from a February 2023 arrest, according to court records.
The sheriff’s department and the South Carolina Highway Patrol briefly stopped a section of Bush River Road near the crash site. It was unclear when all lanes would be reopened and the scene cleared.
Reference: Three injured when chase in Columbia ends in crash, SC sheriff’s department says
