Fatal Allendale County crash leads to felony DUI charges
A passing move on U.S. 301 near the Georgia line killed Trevonna Elmore and brought felony DUI charges against a North Carolina driver. The Elmores were from Allendale County.
A passing maneuver on U.S. Highway 301 near the Georgia line turned fatal in seconds, killing Trevonna Christina Elmore and putting a North Carolina driver on a path toward felony DUI court proceedings. Under South Carolina law, felony DUI resulting in death can bring up to 25 years in prison, while felony DUI involving great bodily injury can bring up to 10 years.
South Carolina Highway Patrol Corporal David Jones said the crash happened about 4:45 p.m. June 7, when a Jeep Wrangler traveling southbound on U.S. 301 crossed a double yellow line in a no-passing zone while trying to pass another vehicle. The Jeep, driven by Saundra Lee Chief Stick-Gopher of Maysville, North Carolina, struck a northbound Mercedes SUV head-on. Shavontay Elmore, 26, was injured, Trevonna Christina Elmore, 31, was taken to a hospital and later died, and Chief Stick-Gopher and a Jeep passenger were also hospitalized.
Investigators arrested Chief Stick-Gopher and charged her with felony DUI resulting in death and felony DUI involving great bodily injury. She was booked into the Allendale County Detention Center, and the Highway Patrol said the case remained under investigation as it moves through the county court system. The Highway Patrol says its victim services unit assists people hurt in DUI crashes and other motor-vehicle crimes, and the agency says it works to reduce collisions through traffic-law enforcement and traffic safety promotion.
The human toll reached beyond the pavement. Trevonna Christina Elmore’s obituary listed her date of death as Sunday, June 7, 2026, and scheduled a viewing and wake for Friday, June 12, at Open Arms Fellowship in Hampton, with a celebration of life on Saturday, June 13. Another funeral-home listing said the family was receiving friends at her mother’s home on Moles Lane in Islandton, and a local remembrance noted that the loss came one day after she and her husband marked their sixth wedding anniversary.
The crash also landed in the middle of a deadly early-summer stretch on South Carolina roads. State data show Allendale County had recorded one traffic fatality year-to-date through June 14, and the Department of Public Safety reported 10 roadway deaths statewide during the June 5-7 holiday period. For families in Allendale County, the wreck on U.S. 301 is now another reminder that a double-yellow-line decision can turn a routine drive into a homicide investigation in minutes.
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