Driver exceeding 100 mph pleads guilty in DUI crash that killed SC dad, officials say
A driver accused of going more than 100 mph before a crash that killed a South Carolina dad now faces prison time, officials said.
John Chance Fuller, 37, was sentenced to nearly two decades behind bars after he “pleaded guilty to felony driving under the influence involving death,” Spartanburg-area prosecutors said April 13 in a news release.
“Fuller’s reckless actions claimed the life of a loving husband and father,” Spenser Smith, an assistant solicitor, said in the release. “There is no excuse for the defendant’s pathetic actions.”
An attorney believed to be representing Fuller didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ requests for comment on April 14.
The case stems from a crash that was reported in Spartanburg County on Nov. 15, 2020. The 7th Circuit Solicitor’s Office said Fuller was driving on Interstate 85 at the time.
Fuller is accused of “speeding more than 100 mph when the cars around him were slowing due to traffic congestion ahead” on the interstate. He hit the back of two cars, both of which then ran into cars in front of them.
One of the drivers — identified as 45-year-old Paul D. Swick — died in the crash.
At the scene, Fuller reportedly was unsteady and slurred his speech. Officials said evidence later emerged that he had taken drugs before the crash.
“Fuller admitted that he took clonazepam earlier in the day,” prosecutors said. “Fuller declined to submit a urine test after his arrest, but a search warrant helped discover methamphetamine and klonopin in his system.”
Fuller, a Greenville resident, has been ordered to spend 18 years in prison. He must serve 85% of his sentence before he can be released, according to the solicitor’s office.
This story was originally published April 14, 2022 at 3:17 PM with the headline "Driver exceeding 100 mph pleads guilty in DUI crash that killed SC dad, officials say."
