Briefly

Man severely injured after hitting sign

MOUNT PLEASANT β€” A man was critically injured in a single-car accident Thursday afternoon on Coleman Boulevard.

A red Dodge pickup truck crashed into a small sign at Taco Bell on Coleman Boulevard at about 5:30 p.m.

It appeared that the driver, whom authorities did not identify, had a medical problem and lost control of the truck, police Lt. Donnie Quick said.

The man was in full cardiac arrest when he was taken from the scene, Quick said. He remained in critical condition late Thursday at East Cooper Regional Medical Center, according to the hospital.

Man shot in finger on Meeting Street

A young man was shot in the finger Wednesday on Meeting Street in Charleston.

Police answered a call about gunshots about 11:20 p.m. near 584 Meeting Street.

They found .40-caliber shell casings near Stuart and Nassau streets and what appeared to be a bullet hole in a building at 578 Meeting Street. While securing the scene, Medical University Hospital called police and told them a man recently had arrived and was being treated for a gunshot wound to the left middle finger, a police report said.

Myron L. Drayton, 22, later told police he was walking to the corner store near the shelter on Meeting Street when he heard gunshots and started to run, the report said.

When he ran far enough, he felt he was no longer in danger, the report said. He stopped and realized he had been grazed in the hand.

Sheriff: White men beat black teen

CHESTER β€” The Chester County sheriff is asking state and federal agents to help investigate the beating of a black teen by two white men.

Brothers Donald "Toadie" Williford and Brandon Todd Williford began beating the teen Tuesday after seeing him in a car with Donald Williford's 16-year-old daughter, Sheriff Robby Benson said.

"I'm not going to let this just slide by," Benson said. "We're going to look at it in every direction. There's a possibility we could carry it on to a federal level."

Both Willfords have been charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. Benson said he wants the State Law Enforcement Division and FBI to see if the Willfords should be charged with a hate crime.

Rosevelt McClurkin Jr., 18, who worked with the girl at a fast food restaurant, escaped the beating and hid in a cooler in the grocery store after another man tried to stop the fight, authorities said.

Collin Stringfellow, who also is black, told The (Rock Hill) Herald he suffered a black eye and bruise on his cheek.

"They looked back at me and they were like, 'Mind your business, boy,' " said Stringfellow, 28. "I was like, 'I'm not going to let it go down like that.' "

One of the men even tried to pull off his prosthetic leg to beat Stringfellow, Benson said.