A Spartanburg County woman is facing an attempted murder charge after deputies say she deliberately drove her car into another person during a road rage confrontation last month. Chelsea Marie Cothran was taken into custody in connection with the October 22 incident, though law enforcement accounts differ on exactly when her arrest occurred.
The Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office said Cothran intentionally drove her vehicle at a person, striking and injuring them, according to an arrest warrant cited by FOX Carolina. The station reported that the victim's condition was unknown at the time of its report, and no further details about how the confrontation began have been released.
Accounts of the timeline diverge. FOX Carolina reported that Cothran was arrested on Thursday and released on a $30,000 bond the following day. A separate report republished by Yahoo, however, states that the sheriff's office announced her arrest on Wednesday, October 28, in connection with the crash, and that she was booked into the Spartanburg County Detention Center following her arrest. The discrepancy between the two accounts has not been resolved.
Charge Reflects Pattern of Aggressive Driving Cases in the Upstate
The case adds to a string of road rage incidents that have drawn serious charges in the Upstate in recent years. In a separate case detailed by WYFF, deputies charged 19-year-old Jeremiah Robert Jansen of Inman with two counts of attempted murder along with weapons offenses after what they described as a road rage incident that escalated into a rolling shootout. The South Carolina Highway Patrol also charged Jansen with reckless driving in that case.
Spartanburg County has seen road rage cases result in arrests before. Live 5 News reported on an arrest tied to a Spartanburg County road rage incident back in February 2023, underscoring that aggressive driving disputes in the area have periodically turned into criminal matters with lasting consequences for those involved.
Cothran's case remains in its early stages, and key questions remain unanswered. The identity and extent of the victim's injuries have not been made public, and no location for the October 22 incident has been disclosed. No response from Cothran or a representative has been reported.
