3 teens who died in Ridgeland crash were clocked at 109 mph, police say

Moments before a white Lexus carrying four South Carolina teenagers careened off an Interstate 95 exit ramp, rolled several times and smashed into a tree Wednesday night, the car was clocked by police speeding down the highway at 109 mph.

Jashawn Tyrie Brown, 17, of Walterboro; Jakeem Quashon Pinckney, 18, of Smoaks; and Tykeem Tyrone Johnson, 18, of Ruffin, were killed in the single-vehicle accident at the Exit 22 ramp in Jasper County, according to Ridgeland Police.

O’Shay Tysheen Wiggins, 18, of Walterboro, was airlifted to Savannah Memorial Hospital in critical condition.

Hospital officials could not provide any information on Wiggins’ condition Friday.

But Trey Murray, a recent Colleton County High School graduate and friend of all four teens, said Friday that he had spoken to Wiggins’ family and the teen’s condition is improving.

“He’s had some surgeries, but he’s going to make it,” Murray said.

A Ridgeland police officer was parked near Exit 22 when the teens sped past just before 9:30 p.m., Officer David Swinehamer of the department’s traffic enforcement division said Friday.

That officer “measured the speed at 109 mph by radar,” Swinehamer said.

“The officer had entered the interstate behind the vehicle but was not able to attempt a traffic stop” before the teens exited the highway, he said.

The exit, which includes a sharp right-hand curve, has a speed limit of 25 mph.

The teen driver was “unable to navigate the curve,” Swinehamer said.

The car first “struck a sign, which caused the vehicle to flip multiple times,” he said. “It hit a couple of smaller trees and then finally stuck a large tree roof-first.”

When officers arrived on scene soon after the crash, they discovered that the “roof of the vehicle was wrapped around that tree,” Swinehamer said.

The initial investigation indicates the teens were not wearing seat belts. Toxicology reports are pending, so it is unknown whether drugs or alcohol played a role in the crash, he said.

Johnson, Wiggins and Pinckney graduated from Colleton County High School last week, according to a statement from the Colleton County School District.

Colleton County High School principal Melissa Crosby said in statement from the school that she “will forever cherish seeing their smiling faces as they proudly accepted their diplomas this past Saturday.”

Brown was a rising senior at the school.

The school district family is deeply saddened by the incident, the district’s statement said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of these students killed in a tragic car accident Wednesday evening.”

Hundreds of friends, family and community members gathered Thursday evening at Colleton County Middle School for a candlelight vigil to share memories and mourn the teens, according to reports from Charleston television station WCSC.

Murray said the teens “all loved having fun, going new places and playing sports.”

“We still can’t believe it happened,” he said. “People are going crazy.”

This story was originally published June 3, 2016 at 6:28 PM with the headline "3 teens who died in Ridgeland crash were clocked at 109 mph, police say."