By Mike McCombs
The Island News
A Sheldon man was killed Sunday night, July 9, when his car struck a tree as he was trying to evade Beaufort County Sheriff’s deputies.
Herman Elvin Martin Jr., 42, of Sheldon, as identified by the Beaufort County Coroner’s Office, was killed. His passenger, also from Sheldon, was ejected from the car, seriously injured and transported via EMS to Savannah Memorial Hospital.
According to S.C Highway Patrol Master Trooper Mitchell Ridgeway, the crash occurred at 8:43 p.m., on Kinloch Road near Wimbie Landing Road, 10 miles from Beaufort. Martin was driving a 2015 Chevrolet sedan north on Kinloch attempting to evade law enforcement.
According to Ridgeway, Martin lost control of the vehicle, going off the road to the right, striking the ditch and then a tree. Martin died at the scene.
Sheriff’s deputies were originally called to Keans Neck Road and Coakley Drive in Dale, regarding a drag racing complaint around 8:30 p.m. The original caller reported that the road was shut down because vehicles were blocking the roadway to race cars.
According to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO), deputies arrived in the area at approximately 8:37 p.m. and observed nearly 150 vehicles parked alongside Coakley Drive and Keans Neck Road.
While conducting traffic enforcement in the area, a deputy observed a black Chevrolet speeding as it was traveling on Keans Neck Road. At approximately 8:45, according to the BCSO, a deputy stopped the speeding vehicle at the corner of Keans Neck Road and Kinloch Road, near Albany’s Grocery.
But the vehicle attempted to elude the deputy, failed to stop for blue lights/siren when signaled and accelerated away. Deputies pursued.
It was during this pursuit that the vehicle failed to negotiate a curve on Kinloch Road and struck a tree.
“By policy, we do pursuit reviews in every pursuit our guys are involved in,” BCSO spokesperson Maj. Angela Viens said Monday. “We will treat this one like every other one.”
This collision remains under investigation by the S.C. Highway Patrol.
Mike McCombs is the editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.
