A driver blew through a stop sign in Rock Hill late on August 12, plowed through a fence, and slammed directly into the Nichols Store building before speeding away into the dark. South Carolina Highway Patrol investigators are now asking the public for help identifying the person behind the wheel, and they believe the getaway car is still driving around with the damage to prove it.
According to the York County Sheriff's Office, the crash happened at roughly 10:04 p.m. at the intersection of Long Meadow Road and Mount Holly Road, where the driver failed to stop before crashing through a fence and striking the Nichols Store building. Investigators have identified the suspect vehicle as a dark gray 2017 to 2019 Kia Cadenza, which fled the scene along Mount Holly Road and is expected to be showing substantial front-end damage.
Nichols Store, the business damaged in the crash, is a long-standing, family-owned outdoor sporting goods retailer and licensed firearms dealer located at 1980 Mount Holly Road in Rock Hill, according to Henry Repeating Arms. No injuries have been reported in connection with the crash.
Troopers Lean on Crime Stoppers to Track Down the Kia
With no driver in custody, South Carolina Highway Patrol is asking anyone who recognizes the vehicle or has information about the crash to call Crime Stoppers of York County. The organization accepts anonymous tips by phone, through its website, or via the P3 Tips app, and offers cash rewards of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest or property recovery, per the York County Sheriff's Office.
The tip line has a track record worth noting. Between its founding in April 2000 and this August, Crime Stoppers of York County processed more than 8,100 tips and approved over $97,000 in cash rewards, leading to more than 1,400 arrests, as Hoodline reported in a separate case involving a Fort Mill car break-in suspect.
What the Driver Could Be Facing
If identified, the driver could face real legal consequences for fleeing the scene. Under South Carolina Code § 56-5-1220, leaving the scene of an accident involving property damage is a misdemeanor carrying penalties of up to one year in jail, fines between $100 and $5,000, or both, according to the Law Office of James R. Snell, Jr. South Carolina law also requires drivers involved in accidents causing more than $1,000 in property damage to report the incident and file an FR-10 financial responsibility form verifying insurance within 15 days, per the John Price Law Firm.
A Familiar Pattern on York County Roads
Property-damage hit-and-runs like this one are far from rare in South Carolina. State data shows 3,932 hit-and-run crashes occurred statewide in 2018, with 3,162 of those resulting exclusively in property damage, according to Enjuris. Statewide, property-damage collisions happen at an average rate of once every 4.8 minutes, per the South Carolina Department of Public Safety's 2022 Traffic Collision Fact Book, as cited by Armada Law.
York County itself has struggled with serious crash rates in recent years, ranking eighth among the state's 46 counties for severe traffic crashes between 2017 and 2021, with 699 fatal and serious-injury collisions logged in that span. For now, the search continues for the Kia Cadenza that tore through Nichols Store's fence and disappeared into the night, with investigators hoping a tip through Crime Stoppers will lead them to the driver before the damaged front end gets fixed.
