Driver intentionally rams into pedestrians and cars in Walmart parking lot, SC cops say
A driver intentionally ran into pedestrians and cars outside a Walmart in South Carolina, officials said.
Justin Wade Gardner, 33, was driving through the store’s parking lot when Florence County deputies said he “purposefully” hit two people on Saturday, Jan. 7.
Then, on his way out of the parking lot, he slammed into four occupied and four unoccupied cars, according to deputies.
Now, Gardner is facing multiple charges. No attorney information was listed for him in online court records or a news release from the Florence County Sheriff’s Office.
State troopers were called at about 2 p.m. to the Walmart store on South Cashua Drive in the Florence area, roughly 70 miles northwest of Myrtle Beach. As officials investigated, they “determined that the incident was likely intentional.”
Officials in their news release didn’t provide a motive. Gardner was taken to jail and charged with several counts each of “assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature” and “leaving the scene of an accident,” deputies said.
The sheriff’s office, which didn’t share additional information as of about 2 p.m. on Jan. 10, also didn’t identify the pedestrians or reveal the extent of their injuries.
This story was originally published January 10, 2023 at 3:49 PM with the headline "Driver intentionally rams into pedestrians and cars in Walmart parking lot, SC cops say."
