Teen high on meth, pot pleads guilty in crash that killed 2 friends

YORK COUNTY, S.C. — A teenager who killed two of his best friends and seriously injured another in a horrible crash, faced a judge in York County Tuesday.

Rhett Boheler, 19, was high on meth and marijuana when he wrecked his car in western York County on February 5, 2016.

Prosecutors said all four teens were life-long friends and knew each other from Gaffney High School. Boheler picked them up that day and drove into York County on Highway 211.

Blood tests later showed he was under the influence of meth and marijuana.

The SUV swerved off Irene Bridge Road into a large pine tree. Two Gaffney High School students, Dominick Galosi and Shemar Byers, died at the scene when the force of the crash pushed the engine into the passenger compartment.

Boheler and a back seat passenger, Brooke Blanton, were air-lifted to a Spartanburg hospital with life-threatening injuries. They survived.

More than a year and a half later, there is still a memorial on Irene Bridge Road near Hickory Grove.

The memorial includes a cross, stuffed animals, and a Gaffney High School sweatshirt that reads "Class of 2016."

Boheler suffered serious injuries and has had facial reconstruction.

He could spend up to 65 years in prison for two counts of felony DUI causing death, and felony DUI causing great bodily injury.

As prosecutors and the Highway Patrol built their case, someone sent them a Snapchat video taken in the car only minutes before the deadly crash.

Deputy Solicitor Willy Thompson said it helped explain what was going on in the car at the time.

"The defendant had posted on social media, on Snapchat, a short video that showed him smoking what appeared to be a joint, just miles away from where the accident occurred," Thompson said.

Later in 2016, Boheler, was released on bond, but it was revoked after he was accused of using drugs again, and traveling out of the state to attend a concert.

On Tuesday, the judge accepted his guilty plea, but because of ongoing medical issues sentencing was delayed until another time.

Family members of the victims were in court but did not wish to speak following the hearing.

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