High Speed Pursuit Of Drunk Driver Ends In Spartanburg County

A Boston, Mass. man received a 10-year prison sentence today for an alcohol-related wreck on I-85 that injured two passengers in his car. Anyelo Fernandez, 39, pleaded guilty to felony driving under the influence with great bodily injury, failure to stop for a blue light and siren with great bodily injury and child endangerment before Circuit Judge Mark Hayes.
The wreck occurred Oct. 7, 2010 on I-85 near Highway 9 when Fernandez rear-ended a tractor-trailer truck about 10:30 p.m. A 25-year-old passenger sustained a leg fracture that required surgery to repair. The injured woman’s two-year-old son was also a passenger in the car. A South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper attempted stop Fernandez’s car for erratic driving in Cherokee County. When Fernandez refused to stop, the trooper initiated a high-speed pursuit into Spartanburg County. The defendant passed cars on both shoulders of the interstate and nearly side-swiped several vehicles while weaving through traffic at speeds of more than 100 mph. When the pursuit entered a construction zone, the trooper terminated the pursuit and continued following Fernandez at a safe distance.
Fernandez’s blood alcohol level was .13 in a post-wreck test administered at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center.
The traffic unit of the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office investigated the wreck. Assistant Solicitor Zach Ellis entered the trooper’s in-car video into evidence during the guilty plea.
“The defendant drove with a complete disregard toward the safety of others,” Ellis said. “Somebody could have easily been killed as a result of his reckless actions.”

Fernandez