Driver who left Lancaster couple ‘for dead’ after hit-and-run turns herself in

LANCASTER, S.C. — A woman accused of crashing into an elderly Lancaster couple head-on and then leaving the scene has turned herself in to police.

Troopers said Courtney Webber crossed the center line on Springdale Road last Saturday night and collided head-on with an SUV. She then got into another car with a friend and left, according to authorities.

Kevin Cauthen, 71, told Channel 9 he remembers pulling away from the intersection of Springdale and Old Landsford Road once the light turned green. His SUV had barely started moving when he and his wife, Nancy Cauthen, saw a light-colored Cadillac coming right toward them.

“It came over the railroad tracks, bounced really high and the dirt came up, and I remember it was going really fast,” Kevin Cauthen said.

He told Channel 9 the car picked up speed and crossed over into his lane.

“The lady hit us head-on, at full speed. I don’t think she ever hit the brakes,” he said.

Their Chevy SUV spun into a ditch, as the Cadillac came to rest in the roadway, totaled. Nancy Cauthen managed to call her son, John, who was there in minutes.

“I jumped out and immediately rushed to their aid to find them both in agony, in pain,” John Cauthen said.

He noticed a white Honda Odyssey minivan that had pulled up near the wrecked Cadillac. He said a man got out and was yelling at the woman who caused the accident.

“He was yelling at her about going too fast, she didn’t know where she was going, she shouldn’t have been doing what she was doing, and he was really, really fussing at her,” John Cauthen said.

He said the man went to the Cadillac, got some items out of it, then ripped the temporary paper tag off the back and left with the woman.

John Cauthen’s parents were left on the roadside in the cold darkness.

“They didn’t even check on my parents. They left them for dead. They didn’t know if they were alive or dead. They just left,” he said.

John Cauthen also smelled alcohol and spotted beer bottles and a mixed drink container in the floorboard of the car. They believe Webber’s head hit the windshield and she was likely seriously injured.

Kevin Cauthen fractured his sternum and several ribs. He’s home from the hospital but his wife of 47 years wasn’t so lucky. She suffered several broken bones, internal bleeding and needed emergency surgery.

He is hoping she can come home by Friday.

Kevin Cauthen said he doesn’t hate the driver who changed their lives but wanted her to do the right thing.

“I’m not after revenge or anything, but it was a horrific thing to happen,” he said.

Troopers believe the car was purchased in the last few weeks. It doesn’t appear it was insured. Webber turned herself in to police on Thursday night. She faces several charges, including leaving the scene of an accident causing serious injury.

John Cauthen told Channel 9 earlier in the week that he wanted the person responsible to own up to it.

“I want them to be upfront and honest about what they did because it’s the right thing to do,” he said.

The family has been overwhelmed with calls, prayers and support from the Lancaster community. They want to thank everyone for their kind thoughts and well wishes.

Lancaster couple hurt in hit-and-run urging driver to ‘do the right thing'

Cox Media Group