CAYCE, S.C. (AP) — A Cayce police officer has been cleared in a chase he started that ended in a wreck in Columbia that killed two men.
Officer John Reese complied with the city's policy in the Dec. 14 chase that started in Cayce and crossed the Congaree River into Columbia where a wreck occurred at an intersection, Cayce Public Safety Chief Charles McNair wrote in a report.
The driver of the car Reese was chasing, 23-year-old Shyborn Belton, died in the wreck.
The stolen car Belton was driving hit a minivan driven by 48-year-old Chamberlain Branch, who also died. Branch was the supervisor at the Governor's Mansion.
Investigators say the chase reached speeds of 90 mph.
Cayce's police chase policy says, "If an officer attempts to stop a violator in accordance with the Department's procedures and the violator attempts to escape or elude the officer, the officer is obligated to make a reasonable attempt to pursue the suspect or vehicle."
Officers are also instructed to consider a range of criteria, including seriousness of the original offense, weather and road conditions.
Reese started the pursuit when he saw a sedan with only its parking lights on around 12:30 a.m.
The sedan sped into Columbia and hit the minivan driven by Branch. The father of three school-age children died of injuries in his vehicle, which burst into flames shortly after being struck by the stolen car.
Police did not know the car was stolen when they began the pursuit.
Three passengers in Belton's car were hurt.
"It is apparent that the decisions made by Shyborn Belton caused not only his own death but the death of Chamberlain Branch as well as great bodily harm to other persons," McNair wrote.
The South Carolina Highway Patrol released a report last month that found no fault in Reese's handling of the chase.