Man who swallowed bag of crack cocaine during Horry County police traffic stop still in coma nearly a month after incident

A man in Horry County police custody, who became unresponsive after swallowing a bag of crack cocaine, is still in a coma nearly a month after the incident occurred, Lt. Raul Denis said.

The man first went into a coma while being transported to the J. Reuben Long Detention Center, following an incident that occurred April 4, authorities said.

“We are unable to charge him while he is incapacitated to this extent because he cannot be guaranteed his legal rights, like a timely bond hearing. To our knowledge his condition is unchanged,” Denis said in an email on Saturday.

While on patrol about 11:45 p.m. in the Socastee area, an Horry County police officer ran the license plate of a black Chevrolet Camaro through police information systems.

The officer noticed that a name registered to the car was someone who had been arrested in connection with possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, according to the report.

The officer also received information that the car owner had a suspended driver’s license, police said.

Another officer saw and verified the owner was the person driving the car; police pulled the car over at a gas station at Mr. Joe White Avenue and Seaboard Street, authorities said.

Police said the man resisted and struggled with officers when he was told he was under arrest.

An officer wrapped his arms around the man from behind to keep him from running while the man was attempting to climb the interior of the car; the officer said he and the suspect fell to the ground, authorities said.

While on the ground, the man continued struggling with officers, and an officer on the scene used his taser on the man, who then stopped resisting, according to the report.

Police said they found a small, brown bag containing a small rock-like substance on the man.

While on the way to the J. Reuben Long Detention Center, the suspect told an officer he could not breathe because he had swallowed a bag of crack cocaine, authorities said.

The officer pulled over and called EMS. The officer got the suspect out of his car, laid him on his side and took off his handcuffs, police said.

The suspect then became unresponsive. The officer attempted to remove the bag lodged in his throat while waiting for emergency medical service workers.

Other officers arrived and performed the Heimlich maneuver but were unsuccessful.

EMS arrived and took the man to Conway Medical Center emergency room.

EMS pulled a bag out of the man’s throat while transporting him, authorities said.

Police said the bag contained 19.5 grams of crack cocaine and that they would be getting arrest warrants in connection with trafficking a cocaine base, according to the report.

This story was originally published May 1, 2015 at 10:44 AM with the headline "Man who swallowed bag of crack cocaine during Horry County police traffic stop still in coma nearly a month after incident."