COLUMBIA, S.C. — Tire tracks, a broken hydrant, all indicators of something gone terribly wrong at the Chestnut Hill Plantation subdivision, off of Lost Creek Drive.
Investigators said five teens were rescued from this pond, Friday night and the body of a sixth was recovered Saturday morning, after the vehicle they were in crashed into the water.
At the time, Richland County Sheriff's Department said its deputies were assisting the South Carolina Highway Patrol in pursuit of the vehicle. Inside, they say was a group of teens ranging in age from 14 to 18 years old.
WLTX received copy of the incident report in the case.--which indicates the chase started off of Piney Grove Road, near Interstate 26.
According to the report, the vehicle being pursued had no headlights on.
Lexington County Sheriff's office was assisting with the pursuit as well.
Rescue attempts by deputies began immediately--after the vehicle hit a fire hydrant, rolled over and everyone in the car was underwater.
The Richland County Sheriff's Office and Troopers declined interviews for our report today about what prompted this chase. So News 19 checked with the SC Criminal Justice Academy, which trains law enforcement officers. Jackie Swindler with Academy said pursuits like this aren't part of the curriculum.
“We teach precision driving. We try to make an officer very familiar with the dynamics of a car. What the vehicle would do at certain speeds what happens when a tire loses traction if you leave the road and what happens when you react," he said.
Swindler said that instead there's a focus on safety and decision-making. Chase and pursuit procedures differ at every law enforcement agency.
“Most policies say of course the violator is who initiates the pursuit. Their actions dictate whether or not you pursue or not. Each individual agency will decide for what reason they may or may not allow you to pursue. A lot of agencies have in their contingencies for supervisor approval," he said.
Some of those factors include the time of day, weather conditions, and traffic among other things.
The Richland County Coroner's Office has identified the teen whose body was recovered from the water after the crash as 16-year-old Brandon Nunez of Irmo. According to the incident report from Richland County, Nunez was a front-seat passenger in the vehicle.
The conditions of the other teens are not known. We do know they were transported to area hospitals with various injuries.
Richland County Sheriff's Department said the Columbia Police Department is assisting in the on-going investigation.