Young woman killed on her way to get a milkshake
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BOILING SPRINGS, SC (WHNS) — A man charged with driving under the influence after a deadly three car collision in Spartanburg County on Thanksgiving night was denied bond in a hearing on Monday.
According to SCHP, around 9:22 p.m on November 26. a GMC pickup truck was traveling south on Parris Bridge Road when it crossed crossed over the center line hitting a Honda Sedan traveling the opposite direction head on. The driver of the truck then overcorrected back into the right lane hitting a second Sedan.
The Spartanburg County Coroner’s Office said the driver of the first Sedan, 20-year-old Ericka Grace Solesbee, was pronounced dead at the scene. The passenger of the sedan was injured and taken to the hospital but is expected to be alright.
Troopers say the driver of the truck, 43-year-old Jamells Elliot Floyd, has been charged with felony DUI resulting in death
SCHP said the driver of the second Honda Ford Sedan was not injured.
On Monday, Floyd went before a magistrate judge for a bond hearing.
During the hearing, Solicitor Barry Barnette showed photos from the crash and said, “There is no question that the defendant is at fault in this wreck.”
Solesbee’s parents spoke during the hearing as well.
“This was my baby girl,” Solesbee’s father said through tears. He said his 20-year-old daughter had her whole life ahead of her and it was taken away by a man accused of driving drunk and trying to pass another vehicle in a blind curve.
He said the crash happened as his daughter and a friend were going in search of a milkshake to top off Thanksgiving dinner.
“They went to the Cook Out to get a milkshake after thanksgiving dinner, but it was closed, so they were coming back home,” the father told the judge.
Mr. Solesbee asked the judge to keep Floyd behind bars.
“I just think it’s unsafe to let him back out. He’s a danger to the community.”
A friend of Solesbee’s who was in the car with her when the crash occurred also asked the judge to deny bond, saying Thanksgiving will never again be a happy holiday after what happened.
“I will never be the same again after watching my best friend take her last breath,” she said.
A trooper who worked the collision told the judge that the collision remains under investigation by the South Carolina Highway Patrol MAIT team, but he estimates that Floyd was driving more than 60 miles per hour in a 35 mile-per-hour zone when the wreck happened.
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