Woman charged after leading deputies on high-speed chase at 140 mph

NEWBERRY COUNTY, SC (WOLO) — A 47-year-old woman is now under arrest after leading deputies on a high-speed chase through three South Carolina counties.

The pursuit lasted over 30 miles on Interstate 26 — beginning in Spartanburg County early Thursday morning when the driver of a black E-Class Mercedes reportedly fled from deputies.

The chase continued into Laurens County and then Newberry County — with the suspect traveling at speeds of 140 miles per hour.

“That’s racetrack fast there — not interstate fast,” says Sheriff Lee Foster with the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office.

Foster says even when a deputy successfully deployed a tire-deflation device, the driver continued barreling down the highway on rims — going between 50 and 100 miles per hour — also driving through two construction zones — all with deflated tires.

“The other thing is, she showed the ability and the desire to harm the officers by trying to drive into them several times. Plus, we had her on the telephone with a 911 operator saying she was not going to be stopped, and that she had a gun, and a bomb, and she obviously had some tendencies to want to cause harm,” says Foster.

Deputies report that after exiting into the weigh station at high speed, the suspect’s vehicle struck the interstate’s cable barrier system, spun around, and began traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes of I-26.

“An oncoming car in the wrong lane of an interstate is highly possible that a fatality is involved in that. If not a fatality, great bodily harm, so you gotta try to stop that at all costs,” says Foster.

That’s when Supervisor and Deputy Kyle Owens reportedly made the decision to place his own life at risk and drive his patrol car into the Mercedes to bring it to a stop.

47-year-old Marcy Lynn Goddard from Moore, SC was arrested. She faces multiple charges:

• Failure to Stop for a Law Enforcement Officer
• Attempted Murder
• Resisting Arrest with a Deadly Weapon
• Endangering a Highway Worker
• Driving Under the Influence

Sheriff Foster says no gun or bomb was found inside the vehicle.

Goddard told deputies she was being chased by her husband, as well as the cartel, none of which they said seemed to be true.

“It is a very difficult decision an officer makes whether you chase a car, or let the car go. And either side has consequences. If you let the car go at 140 mph and it plows into somebody and we didn’t chase it, they’re gonna blame police…So our philosophy is, you gotta stop ’em,” says Foster.

Goddard was taken to a hospital before being transported to jail. She is not eligible for bond.

“We try to stop ’em and stop ’em as best you can with as little damage as you can cause,” says Foster.

No other drivers or deputies were harmed during the chase.