Mans drags woman into car at Walmart, then leads police on 110 mph chase, SC cops say

A man led police on a chase at speeds upwards of 110 mph after a witness reported seeing him drag a woman into the passenger seat of his car at a Walmart in South Carolina, a sheriff’s office said.

Deputies responded to a report of a possible kidnapping in Summerville at 5:40 p.m. on July 23, according to an incident report from the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office. A man told dispatchers that one of his friends took his ex-girlfriend, according to a report from the Summerville Police Department.

Summerville is about 100 miles southeast of Columbia.

Dispatchers told deputies they had an active ping on the victim’s phone and described the vehicle as a white Volkswagen Jetta, the report says.

Deputies found a vehicle matching the description and saw it swerving erratically between lanes. When they tried to pull the vehicle over, the driver, later identified as Montarius Lamont Kelley, 25, continued and increased his speeds to 110 mph or more as he drove on S. Live Oaks Drive, according to the sheriff’s office.

Kelley made one turn, then tried to make a right turn — and even used his turn signal — but lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a ditch at Black Tom and State roads in Moncks Corner.

Deputies arrested Kelley and interviewed the victim on scene, according to the sheriff’s department.

The woman told officers that the incident started in Columbia when Kelley took her phone, according to a report from the Summerville Police Department.

He then hit her head, pulled her and tried to take her keys, the report says. They both got into her vehicle, and he drove toward the Charleston area.

The woman said she had to use the bathroom, so Kelley pulled off into the Walmart. When she was walking back to the car, he knew the police were on scene, so he pushed her into the car, the report says.

As he drove away, she tried to get out, but he grabbed her arm and hair and pulled her back in, according to police. Officers said they saw marks and bruising on her left arm and a mark on her right cheek.

Deputies cited Kelley for failure to stop, the report says. Summerville police charged him with kidnapping, according to the department.

This story was originally published July 26, 2022 at 4:50 PM with the headline "Mans drags woman into car at Walmart, then leads police on 110 mph chase, SC cops say."