A driver died early Sunday after crashing while trying to escape law enforcement on Cates Bay Highway near Johnson Street in Horry County, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol. The single-vehicle crash happened at about 1:59 a.m. when a 2018 Kia Optima left the roadway, struck a ditch, a brick sign, several trees and a fence. The driver, the only person in the car, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Highway Patrol said the Kia had been traveling south on Cates Bay Highway in an attempt to escape law enforcement, according to WMBF News. Troopers described the driver as trying to elude officers before the car went off the road. The Horry County Coroner's Office had not released the driver's name as of Sunday and is expected to do so once the family has been notified, per Myrtle Beach News, which plans to report the driver's identity once officials confirm it. The Highway Patrol said its investigation into the crash remains open.
A Pattern of Deadly Chases This Year
A Pattern of Deadly Chases This Year Sunday's death adds to a troubling run of pursuit-related fatalities in Horry County this year. Including Sunday's death and the September 1 Surfside Beach fatal crash, the county had at least five pursuit-related deaths in 2026, according to Myrtle Beach News. Myrtle Beach News notes that most of the incidents it examined happened between roughly 2 and 3 a.m., with the exception of a March crash that occurred in the afternoon.
One of those earlier deaths was 27-year-old Walfre “Alex” Roblero Prince, a motorcyclist killed on March 26 after an HCPD officer tried to stop him on S.C. 22 near Longs shortly before 2 p.m. Prince crashed into a tree and later died at Grand Strand Medical Center, and the South Carolina Highway Patrol investigated that crash, according to the Post and Courier. Prince's mother told WMBF News, per Myrtle Beach News, that she still had unanswered questions and that no one from the county police department had contacted her.
Another case involved 34-year-old Jimmy Gagum, who fled toward downtown Conway after a state trooper spotted him speeding on Highway 501 north and tried to stop him around 2:10 a.m. on June 7, according to Myrtle Beach News. Gagum turned onto Highway 548 and crashed into a ditch, dying at the scene; the Horry County Sheriff's Office took over the investigation, though reports disagree on whether sheriff's deputies or a Highway Patrol trooper initiated that pursuit.
A September Crash Hurt a Teen and Three Children
A third fatal incident unfolded on September 1, when Surfside Beach officers tried to stop a 2004 Jaguar for speeding and reckless driving on Highway 17 around 2:46 a.m. The pursuit passed through Garden City before the car flipped near the Highway 17 Bypass overpass. Jerry Lynch Jr., 47, of Charlotte, died in the crash, while a 19-year-old passenger and three children, ages 8, 9, and 10, were taken to the hospital, Myrtle Beach News reports. Town officials said alcohol or drugs may have played a role, per WMBF News.
Horry County Police Chief Kris Leonhardt has pointed to an overall decline in pursuits, telling WBTW that chases dropped 19% between 2024 and 2025, from 204 to 164. Still, the county has not publicly explained how its pursuit policy was applied in this year's fatal chases, and local offices track no single combined public tally of all pursuit deaths in the region, according to Myrtle Beach News. The outlet notes that a public-records requester obtained a copy of the Horry County Police Department's pursuit policy through South Carolina's Freedom of Information Act back in 2023, but the department's current rules and any revisions since then remain unclear.
A Separate Lawsuit Over a 2024 Stolen Jeep Chase
The scrutiny extends beyond this year's fatal crashes. Two Marion County residents filed a lawsuit over an HCPD pursuit of a stolen Jeep from October 2024, after license plate reader cameras flagged the vehicle, Myrtle Beach News reports. The suit alleges the chase lasted about 12 minutes and covered roughly 10 miles across two counties over a suspected property crime, and claims the Jeep crossed into oncoming traffic at 109 mph before hitting the plaintiffs' car. The lawsuit further claims the officer failed to follow department rules for starting, continuing, and ending pursuits, and it names a supervisor who was monitoring the chase. HCPD has said it does not comment on pending litigation, according to WMBF News.
The Sun News obtained an incident report showing one county officer had responded to the pursuit on 9th Avenue in the Conway area and reported that the reason for the initial stop was unclear. Officers recovered narcotics from the Kia after Sunday's crash, Myrtle Beach News reports.
National Research Points to Broader Risks
The Horry County pattern echoes findings from a University of Virginia study that reviewed federal crash data from 2009 through 2023, which found 5,425 fatal crashes connected to police pursuits that killed 6,352 people, an estimated 423 pursuit-related deaths per year nationally. The study found that pursuit-related deaths increased about 2% annually after adjusting for population and broader crash trends, and that pursuits conducted at night carried higher fatality rates. Its authors advocated for risk-based chase restrictions, national pursuit reporting, and alternatives to pursuits, according to Myrtle Beach News.
A commentary in JAMA Network Open estimated that about 30% of pursuit-related deaths are innocent bystanders, not the fleeing driver or police. A separate San Francisco Chronicle investigation found at least 3,336 pursuit deaths nationwide from 2017 through 2022 and reported that no binding national standard governs when police may pursue a vehicle. That investigation also found taxpayers have paid at least $82 million in settlements and judgments stemming from pursuit cases.
In Horry County, the Highway Patrol usually leads investigations when an HCPD pursuit ends in a fatality, while the Sheriff's Office has taken over investigations when a trooper's pursuit ends in a death, Myrtle Beach News reports. HCPD, the Sheriff's Office, the Highway Patrol and Surfside Beach Police have all been involved in the pursuits examined this year. For now, the Highway Patrol's investigation into Sunday's crash near Johnson Street remains open, with the driver's identity still unconfirmed.
