The coroner has identified the three people who died in Mt. Pleasant following pursuit and crash; one was an officer

CHARLESTON COUNTY, SC (WCSC) – The Charleston County Coroner has identified three men who crashed into a tree while trying to evade law enforcement.

Scott Tucker, 20, Dennis Bernard, 20, and Jaden Geathers, 19, all of Summerville, died from blunt force injuries sustained in the collision.

According to Lt. Chaz Easterlin, Tucker was an officer with the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office.

The incident report shows Isle of Palms police first tried to stop the car but instead increased the speed to more than 100 mph. Police discontinued the pursuit as the car fled down the Isle of Palms Connector and notified Mount Pleasant police and Charleston County deputies that the vehicle was possibly headed to Mount Pleasant.

Deputies asked why police attempted to arrest him. Police reported that the driver of the car hit the median and was driving with his headlights off in a way that suggested the driver may have been damaged.

The officers continued the pursuit, but they were unable to catch up due to the high speed of the car. They were about to abandon the pursuit when they saw the car come to a stop after hitting “a few trees” and all the passengers were ejected.

According to firefighters, the accident occurred on Thursday around 1:30 a.m. A 2015 Jaguar with three people inside was traveling west on Hungry Neck Boulevard during a pursuit when the car ran off the right side of the road and struck a tree.

The driver and one passenger died on the spot.

Emergency medical services took the third passenger, identified as Geathers, to hospital for treatment, where he later died.

Charleston County Sheriff’s Office deputies reported around 2:30 a.m. that Hungry Neck Boulevard was closed due to a single-car crash.

The road was closed for almost 10 hours.

The Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office said Tucker was 19 when he was sworn in and was the first officer hired under the age of 21. The office issued the following statement on this matter:

Officer Tucker has served admirably during his tenure at the LC Knight Dorchester County Detention Center. Sheriff LC Knight and the entire command staff of the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office extend their condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Officer Tucker. We also express our condolences to the families and friends of the other two people who lost their lives as a result of this tragic event.