Man abandons children in vehicle after chase ends in crash; Sumter deputies searching for suspect

Sumter County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a suspect who led deputies on a high-speed chase with five children in the vehicle.

At about 1 p.m. on Thursday, July 16, deputies observed a vehicle commit a traffic violation near Copley Drive and attempted a traffic stop.

According to Mark Bordeaux, public information officer with the sheriff's office, the driver, thought to be 31-year-old Kiondre Naje Lovely, fled from deputies at speeds of approximately 55 mph in the Cherryvale community before crashing and fleeing near Dorsey and Cherryvale drives.

Investigators do not think there is any danger to the community, Bordeaux said. 

After fleeing, the vehicle caught fire. It was then that deputies discovered five children, between ages 1 and 7, were inside. 

The children were safely removed and evaluated by Sumter EMS. No injuries were reported, Bordeaux said. 

Lovely is described as a Black male, 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighing 140 pounds with brown eyes and short black hair.  He was last seen wearing a tie-dyed shirt and blue jeans.

Lovely faces failure to stop for blue lights and five counts of child endangerment, the sheriff's office said. 

Anyone with information on Lovely’s whereabouts is asked to call 911 or submit tips to www.p3tips.com. Tipsters may remain anonymous and could  be eligible for a reward.