Deputy Pulls Unconscious Woman from Burning Car
WINNSBORO – A high-speed chase ended in an explosive two-car crash Saturday near the intersection of Highway 34/200 and the 321 Bypass.
Fairfield County Sheriff Will Montgomery said the chase began around 3:30 p.m. in Blackstock near the Chester County line when the S.C. Highway Patrol attempted to make a traffic stop on a 1995 Toyota Camry driven by Roosevelt Huff, 50, of Columbia. Huff raced south down Highway 321 toward Winnsboro. The Highway Patrol called the Sheriff’s Office for assistance, specifically asking that traffic be held up near Fairfield Elementary School.
But before deputies could arrive at Fairfield Elementary, the Camry had roared on toward the intersection of Highway 34/200 and the 321 Bypass. The Camry sped through a red light there, striking a 2007 Nissan Altima broadside just as deputies arrived. Both cars plummeted down the embankment on the western side of the road and burst into flames.
Huff was immediately arrested while deputies pulled a passenger in the Altima to safety. The female driver, however, had been knocked unconscious in the collision and was strapped into the front seat by her safety belt as the fire grew around her. Fire and EMS crews arrived and smashed out the driver side window. Deputy Brad Rolfe was then able to cut the seat belt and rescue squad crews pulled the victim from the car just as the Altima became fully engulfed in flames.
All three were transported to Palmetto Richland Hospital. Huff was released with minor bruises to the Fairfield County Detention Center. The female victim was in critical condition, Montgomery said, but has since been upgraded to stable condition. The passenger in the Altima had a broken hip and appeared to have other minor injuries, but his condition deteriorated and he died from his injuries Tuesday evening.
Lexington County’s Traffic Division is investigating the crash. Official charges against Huff were not available at press time.
