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Preston Emory Grant

Age : 25

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 03/11/2021

Location : 102 Camellia Circle, near Buford Street

City : Gaffney

County : Cherokee

State : South Carolina

Agency : North Carolina State Highway Patrol; Cherokee County Sheriff's Office

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Driver killed in police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

REASON FOR CHASE: Outstanding warrants.
NARRATIVE:
On 03/11/2021, 25-year-old Preston Emory Grant of Shelby, North Carolina, was killed along with his passenger, 37-year-old Simms Leigh Ottinger Wilson, when the Jeep Grant was driving crashed during a police pursuit that began in Cleveland County, North Carolina, and continued into Cherokee County, South Carolina.

A North Carolina State Highway Patrol trooper attempted to stop Grant in Cleveland County because Grant was wanted on several outstanding felony warrants. Grant continued away from the attempted stop and the trooper pursued the Jeep toward the South Carolina state line.

During the North Carolina portion of the pursuit, the state trooper crashed. The trooper survived the collision. The Jeep continued into Cherokee County, South Carolina, where Cherokee County Sheriff's Office deputies joined the pursuit.

At approximately 7:20 p.m., the pursuit reached the area of Camellia Circle and Buford Street in Gaffney. Grant lost control of the Jeep, which left the roadway and struck a large tree in the front yard of a residence at 102 Camellia Circle.

Grant and Wilson were both ejected from the Jeep during the collision. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler subsequently identified Grant and Wilson and reported that autopsies determined both died from injuries sustained in the crash.

The 03/11/2021 Cherokee County entry in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System documenting two fatalities corresponds with the independently documented two-state police pursuit that killed Grant and Wilson.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.wyff4.com/article/man-woman-die-in-cherokee-county-crash-following-chase/35824241
https://accidentdatacenter.com/us/south-carolina/greenville-spartanburg-sc-asheville-nc-anderson-sc/gaffney/21/03/11/preston-emory-grant-25-and-simms-leigh-ottinger-wilson-37-killed-when-ejected-car-crash-near