SC State student charged after crash kills two, hurts others, Highway Patrol says
A South Carolina State University student was arrested on multiple charges days after a car crash killed two women and injured other people, according to South Carolina Highway Patrol.
On Tuesday night, Sgt. Sonny Collins said 23-year-old Fuquan Mekhi C. Hills was charged with two counts of failure to stop for blue lights resulting in death, one count of failure to stop for blue lights resulting in great bodily injury, two counts of felony DUI involving death, one count of felony DUI with great bodily injury, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, unlawful possession of a firearm, and open container of alcohol.
Hills was driving a 2015 Hyundai Sonata, according to Collins. The car was speeding and refused to stop for a trooper when it crashed into a 2009 Mercury Milan, the Orangeburg Times and Democrat reported.
The collision happened at about 1 a.m. on Feb. 25 at the junction of S.C. 33 and U.S. 178 in Orangeburg County.
No law enforcement vehicles were involved in the wreck, and no officers were hurt in the incident, SNBC reported.
Hills is an S.C. State student, university officials said Friday.
Another S.C. State student, Shemyia Riley, and 2021 graduate Zeleria Simpson died in the two-vehicle collision, according to university officials.
Hills and two other current students were injured in the wreck, university officials said. Further information on the other students’ conditions was not available.
Officials have not said which vehicle each victim was in.
A prayer vigil and balloon release was held in memory of Simpson and Riley on Tuesday at the university’s Student Center Plaza.
Simpson, a Charleston resident, was a former standout guard for the Bulldogs women’s basketball team who graduated in May 2021 with a degree in criminal justice and law enforcement administration, according to university officials.
Riley, a Greenville native, was a junior majoring in social work and was a Dr. Emily England Clyburn Honors College Scholar who had been recently named a 2022 Shining Star by the S.C. State University Foundation, officials said.
“Our hearts break for the families of the beautiful souls we’ve lost,” S.C. State Interim President Alexander Conyers said in a news release. “There are no words that will dull the pain currently being experienced by their immediate families.”
S.C. State said it has made counselors available to students, faculty and staff members in need of help as they cope with the aftermath of the collision.
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This story was originally published March 2, 2022 at 7:57 AM with the headline "SC State student charged after crash kills two, hurts others, Highway Patrol says."
