Coroner releases names of 2 killed in 150 mph chase, fiery crash

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    SPARTANBURG COUNTY, SC (WHNS) — An Upstate police chief says a high-speed chase ended in a crash that left two people dead and another person in the hospital Wednesday evening.

FOX Carolina received several tips about the scene along US-29 near Locust Road around 5:15 p.m. Multiple tipsters used Nikita’s nightclub as a landmark for reference, indicating part of the highway was being closed off.

We reached out to the Spartanburg County Coroner’s Office around 6 p.m. to see if they had been summoned to the scene. We received a response that confirmed the office was called in. Later, coroner Rusty Clevenger announced the crash was so severe that the office was unable to immediately identify the two people who had died. Clevenger says the office is still working on the identification process and will notify next of kin before publicly announcing the identities of the deceased.

We also reached out to law enforcement for more details about what led up to the collision. County dispatch indicated the case was based in Duncan, but Wellford police chief David Green offered more information.

Green says WPD was helping DPD in the chase that exceeded 150 miles per hour, all stemming from a traffic stop for reckless driving. The suspect vehicle then gave chase, and the dangerous speeds meant officers began backing off of the chase. However, Green says just as they were doing so, the suspect vehicle slammed into another car on US-29.

Green confirmed that two people died and a third person was sent to the hospital. All officers involved in the pursuit are okay, as they were about a quarter of a mile behind the suspect vehicle when it crashed.

The incident is still under investigation, and South Carolina Highway Patrol has taken it over using their MAIT unit. More details are expected to be released Thursday. SCHP confirms both directions of US-29 were still closed as of 9 p.m.

Just before 10 p.m., SCHP released more details about the crash. According to troopers, the suspect car was a 2017 Dodge Charger carrying a driver and passenger trying to evade police while driving south on US-29. The other car involved was a 2007 Jeep Commander, who was trying to leave a private drive when the crash happened. SCHP says neither the driver nor passenger in the Charger were wearing seat belts, and upon crashing into the Jeep were ejected. The driver of the Jeep was also ejected, but it was not clear if that driver was wearing a seat belt because the SUV caught fire shortly after. Troopers noted the Charger also caught fire.

SCHP says the driver of the Charger was taken to a hospital for treatment. However, the passenger in the Charger and the driver of the Jeep both died on scene.

On Thursday, Coroner Rusty Clevenger released the names of the two people killed in the wreck.

Clevenger said Charles Rickman Stepp, 61, of Saint Helena Ct. in Roebuck was the driver of the Jeep. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Also pronounced dead at the scene was Kenneth James Heavner, 25, of Kensington Dr. in Taylors. Clevenger said Heavner was a passenger in the Charger.

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