COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Richland County Coroner's Office has released the name of a 48-year-old man who died when deputies say he hit another vehicle head-on while running from law enforcement on Friday.
According to Coroner Naida Rutherford, Byron L. Pringle of Columbia died following a crash on I-126. The Richland County Sheriff's Department said it was tipped off around 2:30 p.m. by the Lexington County Sheriff's Department that a suspect wanted on narcotics charges was possibly in the area.
A Richland County deputy spotted the vehicle he was driving, a 2017 Nissan Versa, and attempted to pull the driver over. When that driver, now identified as Pringle, didn't stop, deputies pursued the vehicle. Authorities said the driver then intentionally swerved into oncoming traffic on I-26 near Colonial Life Boulevard and crashed into another vehicle.
Pringle died at the scene, and an occupant of the other vehicle was taken to the hospital for evaluation. The sheriff's department said two other vehicles were also hit during the incident, which closed a portion of I-126 for a significant amount of time on Friday afternoon.
The South Carolina Highway Patrol, Richland County Sheriff's Department and Richland County Coroner's Office are investigating the crash.