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COLUMBIA -- A Charlotte man died Wednesday evening when he crashed into a S.C. Highway Patrol trooper’s vehicle while fleeing from police, authorities in South Carolina say.
Killed in the collision, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Office, was 46-year-old Joseph T. Beck II.
The sheriff’s office says a trooper tried to stop Beck for a seat belt violation early Wednesday evening on eastbound Interstate 20, near the Clemson Road exit. Authorities say Beck pulled off, and the trooper pursued.
The sheriff’s office says Beck, driving a Ford Fusion, exited I-20 at the Clemson Road interchange, with the trooper in pursuit. Authorities say Beck drove into a cemetery near Fort Jackson, then turned around to come out. That is when the Ford collided with the trooper’s car, killing Beck.
The trooper was not seriously hurt, authorities say.
NewsChannel 36, the Observer’s news partner, is reporting that the man killed in the crash is the same Joseph T. Beck who had been arrested three times by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police since March 2010, according to CMPD records. Twice -- on March 10, 2010, and on March 12, 2011 -- he was charged with DWI.
An investigation into the case continues.
