SUMTER COUNTY, S.C. — Sumter County authorities have identified a man who died following a crash in Sumter County on Friday night following a pursuit.
The Sumter County Sheriff's Office said the incident began when a deputy noted an expired license plate and started following the vehicle while awaiting confirmation. The sheriff's office said that, upon getting confirmation that the tag was expired, the deputy attempted a traffic stop as the car was heading south on North Main Street (U.S. 15).
Authorities said the vehicle turned onto North Pike, and a passenger got out with hands raised, but the escaping driver continued his attempt to get away. An accompanying state constable helped apprehend the passenger.
The deputy followed the suspect driver onto Bordeaux Avenue before the driver circled through a yard, returned to North Pike, and headed back to North Main Street.
Lance Corporal Brittany Glover with the South Carolina Highway Patrol said the crash happened just before midnight on North Main Street near Jefferson Road. Glover said the vehicle, a 2017 Nissan Altima, went off the left side of the road and hit a tree.
The driver, later identified by Sumter County Coroner Robbie Baker as 37-year-old Christopher Eaddy of Sumter, died at the scene. Glover said the crash remains under investigation by the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
An autopsy for Eaddy is scheduled for Tuesday at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.
