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Shemyia Tonette Riley

Age : 20

Gender : Female

Race : Black

Date : 02/25/2022

Location : SC-33 and US-178

City : Orangeburg

County : Orangeburg

State : South Carolina

Agency : South Carolina Highway Patrol

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Bystander killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

REASON FOR CHASE: Bystander killed during speeding pursuit; a South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper attempted to stop a 2015 Hyundai Sonata after observing it traveling at a high rate of speed.
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NARRATIVE:
On 02/25/2022, 20-year-old Shemyia Tonette Riley of Greenville was killed in a two-vehicle collision at SC-33 and US-178 in Orangeburg County during a pursuit initiated by a South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper.
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At approximately 1:00 a.m., a South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper observed a 2015 Hyundai Sonata traveling at a high rate of speed and attempted to conduct a traffic stop. The driver continued driving and the trooper pursued the Hyundai.
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The Hyundai subsequently collided with a 2009 Mercury Milan at SC-33 and US-178. Riley and 24-year-old Zeleria Simpson were killed, while three other South Carolina State University students were hospitalized.
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Riley was a junior at South Carolina State University majoring in social work and was a Dr. Emily England Clyburn Honors College Scholar. She had recently been named a 2022 Shining Star by the SC State University Foundation. Riley was born June 25, 2001, and was the first member of her family to attend college.
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The pursued Hyundai's driver, Fuquan Mekhi C. Hills, survived. South Carolina Highway Patrol subsequently charged Hills 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, felony DUI involving great bodily injury, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, unlawful possession of a firearm and open container.
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The Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office requested that the Lexington County Sheriff's Department investigate the fatal collision. South Carolina's official 2022 collision statistics record Lexington County Sheriff's Department as investigating an Orangeburg County fatal collision involving two deaths, consistent with this incident.
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The publicly available sources located do not provide the pursuit's maximum speed, total distance or duration.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The South Carolina Highway Patrol did not publicly identify the trooper who initiated the traffic stop and pursuit.
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SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.wistv.com/2022/02/25/sc-state-current-student-graduate-killed-car-accident/
https://www.thestate.com/news/local/crime/article258959953.html
https://www.wyff4.com/article/university-car-crash-killed-south-carolina-state-student/39287837
https://www.scstatehouse.gov/query.php?category=LEGISLATION&conid=8385200&keyval=1241383&numrows=50&result_pos=2750&search=DOC&searchtext=daughter%25&session=0