Report: Suspect arrested after chase with police reaches 100 mph in Conway area

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF) - Tuesday night, police arrested a man who led officers on a chase that reached 100 miles per hour in the Conway area.

Reports obtained by WMBF News show 43-year-old Michael Richards was wanted by police in connection to an attempt to arrest him on Aug. 30 for failure to stop for police and driving under a suspended license. At the time, officers had to call off the chase because of unsafe weather conditions.

Tuesday night, an officer spotted the same car from the Aug. 30 incident and began a chase down Causey Road and Cox Ferry Road. Richards continued to flee from officers, driving the wrong way down Cox Ferry Road across Highway 501.

Warrants show the chase reached 100 miles per hour.

Officers initiated stop sticks to deflate Richards’s tires in an attempt to end the chase as he was headed back toward the city of Conway.

Richards continued the chase down Main Street until he lost control at Lakewood Avenue and crashed into a small brick retaining wall. An Horry County police officer who was pursuing Richards also collided with his car and caused damage to the front bumper of his patrol car.

In an attempt to run away on foot, Richards jumped out of his vehicle but was quickly apprehended by officers.

Warrants for Richards’s arrest revealed that officers found pill bottles they believe he attempted to get rid of while trying to run away from the police.

Richards is charged with failure to stop for a blue light and several drug possession charges.

He was denied bond and is being held at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center.

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