A woman fleeing the Walmart on Whiskey Road on Tuesday afternoon after allegedly shoplifting collided head-on with a pickup on East Pine Log Road, and later died, according to Aiken County Coroner Tim Carlton.
Lucinda Randolph of Aiken was pronounced dead at 1 p.m. at Aiken Regional Medical Centers.
Officers were called to Walmart about 12:30 p.m. Randolph was trying to flee the store, and a store loss prevention officer was trying to detain her, according to Lt. Jake Mahoney, a spokesman for Aiken Public Safety. Randolph, 31, got into a silver Pontiac sedan and tried to flee the parking lot.
"The loss prevention officer had to jump away from the vehicle to avoid being struck as it fled," Mahoney said.
Officers tried to initiate a traffic stop on the vehicle on Whiskey Road, but the vehicle was traveling at a "high rate of speed," according to Aiken Public Safety Detective Jeremy Hembree.
Randolph then struck another vehicle head on on East Pine Log and then two other vehicles became involved in the crash scene.
Carlton reported that several other victims in this crash were transported to several local hospitals. Their conditions are not known at this time.
A minor child was a passenger in Randolph's car, but there is no word on his or her condition.
Clay Thomas was driving just ahead of Randolph's car and saw the collision.
"They were trying to speed up behind us," he said. "They were running from the cops, because I saw the lights from behind them. As soon as they tried to get into the next lane, the blue truck hit them and flipped them around."
South Carolina Highway Patrol is investigating this traffic collision along with the Aiken County Coroner's Office.
An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday in Newberry.
Copyright 2013 - Aiken Standard, S.C.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
