A Greenville SC car chase that occurred in the early morning hours on July, 18, 2018, has ended in serious injuries to the victims, including one victim losing a leg.

Local media in the Greenville SC area have reported that a car chase involving a stolen Mercedes Benz ended up crashing into the Parker at Cone apartments. Apparently, before crashing into the apartment building, the driver of the stolen Mercedes hit a cyclist, injuring the cyclist seriously. According to media reports, the cyclist lost a leg in the collision. The media is also reporting that a resident of an apartment was seriously injured as well.

The series of events began around 8:30PM on July 17, 2018, when the Mercedes was reported stolen. Around 2:30AM, on July 18th, officers with the Greenville City Police Department observed the stolen car. A chase ensued. According to local media reports, the chase reached speeds of over 100 mph. The police officers lost sight of the stolen car but apparently soon thereafter offices witnessed flames coming from near the apartment complex. So drawing conclusions from facts being reported in the media, it appears that the car went off the road during the pursuit and that is when officers lost sight of the vehicle. The car then hit a cyclist, and crashed into the apartment complex, bursting into flames and injuring the unsuspecting resident inside the apartment. Hopefully, more answers will be forthcoming to the public as to the exact sequence of events.

Some immediate questions come to mind, from a personal injury claim standpoint. First, what insurance is available if the driver was operating a stolen car?. Clearly, the driver was not a permissive driver. Was the driver covered under any type of liability policy? Generally speaking, liability insurance follows the driver. But there may be coverage exclusions in the driver is operating a car without permission or if its stolen. So legal research and a review of any auto insurance policies would have to be performed before a definite answer could be reached as to that question.

Another question that comes to mind is whether the police agency initiating the chase could face liability. Police car pursuit cases are very factually nuanced cases. So whether the agency, the Greenville City Police Department, has any liability will depend on all of the various factors involved in the case. First of all, the police department will likely have policies and procedure on pursuits. So in litigation, the policies and procedures will have to be reviewed to determine if there were any violation of departmental policies in the case. Some other factors that may be involved: what was the environment in which the chase was performed-was it an urban city street? what were traffic conditions?; what was the danger that the suspect presented to others in the community? What were the alternatives to apprehension beside a vehicle pursuit? These questions,  and others, will need to be answered as well.

This car chase in Greenville, SC that ended with serious personal injuries is a tragedy. Hopefully, there will be more answers in the days ahead about the facts involved.