LEXINGTON COUNTY, SC : Spartanburg man arrested after crashing government vehicle in high-speed chase on I-26 on Friday, 26th April 2019
Lexington, South Carolina
The man who crashed a stolen government vehicle Friday morning ending a high-speed chase near Piney Grove Road has now been identified.
Calhoun County Sheriff Thomas Summers, Jr., said 32-year-old John Edward Atkins of Spartanburg was arrested immediately after the chase was over.
Summers said the chase started near mile marker 139 on I-26 (Burke Road) at the Pilot Truck Stop. The sheriff said a person pulled into the truck stop driving a the government vehicle from Orangeburg County Fire Services. The driver got out of the vehicle and, somehow, Atkins jumped into the vehicle and sped off. Summers said a deputy riding through the area doing property checks was flagged down by the victim to give a description of Atkins and the stolen vehicle.
Lance Corporal David Jones of the South Carolina Highway Patrol added that troopers assisted with the chase once they came toward Columbia.
Summers confirmed that Atkins hit another vehicle during the chase causing him to lose control of the stolen vehicle. The collision initially closed two westbound lanes on the highway.
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