Girl, 14, drives wrong way on U.S. 378

By JASON WERMERS
Item Staff Writer
jwermers@theitem.com

A 14-year-old girl who drove a red Ford Mustang the wrong way on U.S. 378 almost took out another car Friday night, the Sumter County Sheriff's Office said.

The girl was driving west on eastbound U.S. 378 near U.S. 76 when the near collision happened about 11:18 p.m. A Sumter County sheriff's officer saw the situation developing and quickly stopped the car, according to an arrest report.

When the officer asked the girl for her driver's license, she produced one purportedly belonging to a 24-year-old woman. When the officer confronted the girl about the photo not matching her appearance, the girl gave another false name and birthdate. The officer detained her before she finally gave her true name and age, the report says.

The minimum age for most to receive a full South Carolina driver's license is 17, although 16-year-olds can apply if they have driven without violations for at least a year with a conditional driver's license. The youngest anyone can legally drive in South Carolina is 15, which is the minimum age someone can be to receive a beginner's permit.

Three passengers — two identified simply as John Doe because neither had identification, along with Kimberly Vaughn, 19, of 21 Shuler Drive — were removed from the car and detained, according to the report.

A fifth passenger, identified as Marco Antonio-Pina Hernandez, 22, of 60 White Horse St., was reportedly unconscious in the back seat. He had a half-full beer bottle in his hand and a 30-pack of beer on his lap that had eight unopened and three open bottles, the sheriff's office said. A search of the car revealed a quarter-full can of beer inside the center console, and a marijuana blunt, weighing about 2 grams, on the back floorboard, the report says.

A portable breath-alcohol test revealed the presence of alcohol in the 14-year-old and in Vaughn, according to the report.

Deputies seized $1,391 in cash from one of the John Does, along with the marijuana blunt, alcohol and the car, the report says.

The girl was released to her mother's custody on charges of driving without a license, misrepresentation of information and driving the wrong way. The other four were taken to Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center.

Other pending charges include minor possessing alcohol, possession of marijuana, open container violation and allowing an unauthorized person to operate a motor vehicle.