A driver sped off into the dark early on August 23 after striking and killing 37-year-old Janyne Renee Mbeng as she walked along Frink Street in Cayce, South Carolina, near Westview Drive around 3:15 a.m. Another motorist later spotted her body on the side of the road and called EMS, but Mbeng died at the scene. More than two weeks later, the driver responsible has not been found or identified.
Cayce Police Chief Bruce Wade publicly appealed for help on August 24, urging anyone with surveillance footage or information to call the department's tip line or Crime Stoppers, according to WestMetroNews. Investigators say they are leaning on surveillance video and physical road debris to piece together what happened, since there was no immediate description of the vehicle involved. Anyone with information can reach Cayce police at 803-550-9536 or contact Crime Stoppers.
The case remained unsolved as of September 1, when Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher officially identified the victim as Mbeng, a Cayce native, confirming she was struck in the roadway and died after being transported to a local hospital, per WLTX. Her identity had been withheld in initial news releases pending family notification. Mbeng was a mother of three, according to a report from Charlotte Alerts News.
State Investigators Join the Search for a Driver
The unsolved crash is now under active joint investigation by the Cayce Police Department, the Lexington County Coroner's Office, and the South Carolina Highway Patrol's Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team, a specialized state unit that handles complex fatal collision reconstructions, according to the Lexington County Chronicle. Because the driver fled without reporting the collision, investigators are relying heavily on surveillance video, physical debris analysis, and community tips to identify the vehicle and the person behind the wheel.
If that driver is eventually found, the legal exposure is severe. Under South Carolina Code Section 56-5-1210, leaving the scene of a crash that results in death is a felony carrying a mandatory prison sentence of one to 25 years, along with fines ranging from $10,000 to $25,000, according to the South Carolina Legislature's statutory code. State law tiers hit-and-run penalties based on whether the crash caused property damage, bodily injury, or loss of life, and a fatality places this case at the most serious end of that scale.
A Sidewalk Project Already Underway on Frink Street
Mbeng was killed on a stretch of Frink Street where the South Carolina Department of Transportation and the City of Cayce were already advancing a multi-phase sidewalk installation project, the same report from WestMetroNews notes. That project is designed to extend a five-foot sidewalk from State Street to Foreman Street, work that was underway before the fatal crash but had not yet reached the section where Mbeng was walking.
In the aftermath, Cayce City Councilman Byron Thomas publicly called on August 30 for state and local authorities to extend the planned sidewalk construction along the entirety of Frink Street to Charleston Highway. Civic leaders have pointed to previous pedestrian hazards along the corridor, and Thomas's push reflects a broader local push to close the gaps in a road that pedestrians have long had to navigate without protected walking space.
South Carolina's Pedestrian Death Toll Keeps Climbing
The crash lands amid grim statewide numbers. Smart Growth America's 2026 Dangerous by Design report ranked South Carolina as the fourth deadliest state in the nation for pedestrians, recording 893 pedestrian fatalities statewide between 2020 and 2024, according to the Post and Courier. Metropolitan Columbia and Charleston both ranked among the deadliest urban areas in the country in that same analysis.
State transportation data shows pedestrians historically account for nearly 18% of all motor vehicle traffic fatalities in South Carolina, a disproportionate share that has pushed the South Carolina Department of Transportation to develop its own Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Action Plan. Federal crash data from 2024 put South Carolina's pedestrian fatality rate at 2.85 per 100,000 residents, well above the national average of under 2.0, even as pedestrian deaths nationwide have risen more than 70% since 2009 according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration figures.
For now, the immediate question in Cayce remains unanswered: who was driving the vehicle that struck Janyne Mbeng and left her on Frink Street. Police have not released a vehicle description, and the investigation continues as detectives and state troopers work through whatever video and physical evidence they can gather.
