Daniel Prince
Horne charged with meth possession, unlawful possession of prescription drugs, and driving under suspension
The driver of the vehicle that killed 14-year-old Dontrea Austin is facing charges. Sgt. Nathan Burdine responded to the accident scene Sunday morning, arriving with the first ambulance. Burdine spoke with the other victim, who stated that he and Austin had been hit by a black car driven by Spencer Horne. He stated the car left heading toward Berry Farm Road. The victim was taken by ambulance to Union Medical Center.
Burdine found the black vehicle parked on the side of the road facing in the direction of Santuc-Carlisle Highway. He saw Austin laying on the side of the road opposite the car, with medics and first responders working on him.
Burdine spoke with the male and female who were in the black car. Spencer Horne was identified as the driver, and the passenger was identified but not named in the report. Burdine stated that they both were distraught and not making a lot of sense. He got them to calm down enough to explain what had happened. Horne stated they were riding around when he hit something, but he was not sure at the time what it was. He said they turned around and came back and saw a young boy come of the woods and the other boy laying in the road. Horne stated he picked up Austin and put him in his vehicle, but when dispatch told him not to put him in the car, he moved him out of the car and laid him on the roadway where he was found.
Burdine knew Horne’s driver’s license had been suspended, so he placed Horne in Cpl. Stanley’s patrol vehicle until the SC Highway Patrol arrived on scene. Burdine looked in the car and saw blood in the back seat, along with small pieces of a white crystal substance believed to be methamphetamine. The substance was also found in the driver’s seat. During the investigation, the Highway Patrol asked that the car be pulled into the roadway so they could see more of the underside of the vehicle, but the key could not be found.
Cpl. Stanley said that someone told him Horne was throwing items out of the car and into the tall grass before law enforcement arrived on scene. While looking in the grass for the items and to see if the key had been thrown out as well, Cpl. Stanley found a plastic box in the grass. Burdine’s K-9 worked the area and gave an alert to the odor of narcotics coming from the box. Inside was found two yellow capsules, two white oval tablets, and a plastic baggie containing a white crystal substance identified by a field test as meth. The pills were identified as 300mg and 800mg Gabapentin. The meth weighed .94 grams.
25-year-old Spencer Horne was arrested and charged with possession of meth, unlawful possession of prescription drugs, and driving under suspension. He is currently being held at the Union County Detention Center. Bond was set at $10,647. It is not known if he will face any further charges related to the incident.