Mount Pleasant, S.C – A chain-reaction crash involving nine vehicles on a busy highway left one person dead and sent a driver to prison after investigators said he never slowed down, distracted by activity on his phone. The collision, which unfolded at a stoplight along Highway 17, was traced to a moment of inattention that prosecutors say lasted several seconds but carried fatal consequences.
A Ninth Judicial Circuit judge on Monday sentenced 32-year-old Melvin Otto Lamb to three to five years in state prison, followed by five years of probation, after he pleaded guilty to reckless homicide. The plea came minutes before his jury trial was set to begin, according to the office of Solicitor Scarlett A. Wilson.
Crash details and investigation findings
The fatal wreck happened June 12, 2021, near the intersection of Highway 17 and Hamlin Road. Prosecutors said Lamb was driving a 2008 Chevy Tahoe northbound when he struck the rear of a 2019 Chevrolet Trax that had been stopped at a red light, “waiting for the light change at that intersection.” The impact triggered a chain reaction involving nine vehicles.
Data collected during the investigation showed Lamb was traveling at 68 mph in a 45 mph zone and maintained that speed in the moments before the crash. According to the release, he continued “for the five seconds before impacting the victim’s vehicle — without turning or applying the brakes at any point.”
Investigators determined that distraction played a central role in the collision. “Lamb’s admissions and a subsequent search of his phone showed that he had been swiping through Tinder, Snapchat, and using Spotify leading up to the crash,” prosecutors said. Lamb also “admitted not knowing what happened in the crash because he had been looking at his telephone.”
Victim and emergency response
Emergency crews transported both Lamb and the victim to the Medical University of South Carolina following the crash. The victim later died from injuries sustained in the collision. Lamb was treated for minor injuries and released.
The Mount Pleasant Police Traffic Division led the investigation with assistance from the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office.
