LONGS, SC (WBTW) – South Carolina Highway Patrol released dash cam video of a police chase that ended with a deadly wreck in northern Horry County.
The crash happened November 15, off Highway 905, by Sarvis Farm Road near Longs.
The highway patrol says it all started with a hit-and-run. Police say 32 year old Casey James Blackwell of Tabor City hit a car in Little River and took off.
The driver of the hit vehicle then called police and followed Blackwell until they arrived.
Troopers caught up to Blackwell on Highway 9 and dash cam video shows the chase ending on Highway 905 when his truck flipped and hit a utility pole.
Video from the pursuing highway patrol car shows Blackwell’s truck passing vehicles in his lane then swerving to miss an oncoming car before crashing into a ditch.
“It rolled over a couple of time’s and hit the pole over there and I just saw sparks flying,” said Stephen Bacani who witnessed the wreck.
The video shows the pole coming down after the impact. Utility workers had to shut off power while they fixed the power line damage and the crash blocked traffic for hours.
Footage from inside the troopers car that night shows Bacani telling his story to the responding officer.
“Right after he passed me I saw you flying across around here and I slammed on my brakes because there was an oncoming car and I thought he was going to hit you,” said Bacani in the video.
Bacani’s brake lights are visible in the corner of the video moments before impact.
“I really thought that other guy was going to hit you. I was totally freaked out,” Bacani can be heard saying to the officer.
News13 also spoke to Bacani that night, he said witnessing the accident will make him more cautious when taking his daily commute from work.
“I have to drive down this road slowly as it is because of deer and now to have something else to worry about. It’s not. Doesn’t seem really comforting,” said Bacani.
The Horry County Sheriff’s Office is handling the investigation.
Count on News13 to keep you covered on the results from the toxicology report.
