CHESTER COUNTY, S.C. — Stevie Breland, 58, of Charleston, is charged with felony hit-and-run causing death. State troopers said he rear-ended a Ford Explorer on Interstate 77 in Chester County at 3 a.m. Feb. 8, killing Flora Ellenburg, 49, who was a passenger.
He did not stop.
Members of Ellenburg's family wiped tears in court Friday morning in Chester. It was the first time they'd seen the man charged with killing the Salisbury woman.
On Friday, disturbing details emerged about an extensive plan to cover up the fatal crash.
Troopers recovered plastic pieces of the purple bumper from the semi, as well as shards of front reflectors, and a partial bumper found on the roadside. Over four days, they matched those small parts to a truck and located Breland, who was home in Charleston.
They also viewed surveillance video from Jonesville, North Carolina, where Breland was delivering his load that morning. The video showed his truck pulling into the lot, missing the front bumper.
On Friday, Deputy Solicitor Julie Hall said within four hours of the crash, Breland removed the damaged bumper from his 18-wheeler and tossed it behind a truck stop in Jonesville.
Highway Patrol investigator Calvin Rikard, with the multidisciplinary accident investigation teams, told the judge how Breland disposed of the bumper.
"He actually had taken it into the woods in one piece. He had put it under a dead tree that had fallen into the woods, and kind of shoved it up underneath that," Rikard said.
Troopers told the court it didn't end there. They said the investigation showed Breland falsified his travel log to say he was nowhere near Chester County at the time of the crash. He then falsified the log two more times in the days following the accident.
Troopers said Breland then bought a new bumper and repainted his truck black. Troopers had put out a flier to local media, looking for a semi with a purple cab.
"In all my years in law enforcement, I’ve never seen someone go so far to cover up what they did," Rikard said.
Later, troopers learned the GPS unit in the truck had recorded that Breland was in Chester County at the time of the Feb. 8 crash at the exact spot. Another device on board also recorded an impact at the time of the fatal crash.
Hall said despite that evidence, Breland lied to troopers when they interviewed him.
"At some point, Mr. Breland was questioned about this, and he said, 'Yeah, I saw that accident. I actually passed that accident,’" Hall said.
Channel 9 also learned Friday that Breland has caused at least two accidents before. Court records show he rear-ended a vehicle in July 2015 on I-77 in Mooresville, and he clipped another car in November on I-26. He was given a restricted status following those two incidents.
Family members of Ellenburg were in court Friday but did not speak. Through their attorney Pete Nosal, they released a statement, thanking the highway patrol and the solicitor's office for their work on the case. They plan to be there for all future court appearances for Breland.
The judge said he was so shocked at the details of alleged cover up of the hit-and-run, he denied bond.
Breland's defense lawyer argued that because Chester doesn't hold court very often, he was concerned that his client could sit in jail for a long time awaiting trial.
The judge, though, didn't seem concerned.
Breland could face 25 years in prison, if he's convicted. A trial date was not set.
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