SUMTER, S.C. — The Sumter County Coroner confirmed on Sunday that a teen involved in a police pursuit on Friday died days later from injuries he sustained in a crash.
According to Coroner Robbie Baker, the crash happened around 5:30 p.m. on Highway 521 near Mulberry Church Road and claimed the life of 17-year-old Ravon Harris. Baker said Harris was driving a vehicle pursued by Sumter County sheriff's deputies and Sumter police officers. At some point during the chase, authorities said Harris lost control, and his vehicle flipped, causing serious injuries.
Harris was taken by helicopter to Prisma Health Richland Hospital, where he died on Sunday. The coroner's office said preliminary information suggests he wasn't wearing a seatbelt. On Tuesday, an autopsy is being performed at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.
The coroner's office confirmed the chase in question was the same one reported earlier in the weekend by the Sumter County Sheriff's Office. The sheriff's office said on Saturday that the 2014 Cadillac CTS was reportedly connected to a dispute between armed males at the Red Lobster on Broad Street in Sumter.
Sumter County deputies assisted Sumter Police in stopping the car on Old Pocalla Road, the sheriff's office said. A passenger ran from the vehicle at some point, and the driver sped away.
The sheriff's office said a deputy pursued the vehicle with its emergency lights and sirens on, but the driver refused to stop, heading south on Manning Road and then onto Highway 521 South at speeds that surpassed 100 mph.
The sheriff's office said the driver lost control on the highway and hit an embankment, causing the vehicle to flip and catch fire. Authorities said the deputy was able to put out the fire, and the driver was taken by helicopter to Columbia. The sheriff's office said in its previous statement that the driver was critically injured.
The passenger, also a juvenile, was later caught, and the sheriff's office said deputies found five handguns during the investigation, many of which were reported stolen across the county.
