Three hurt after police chase

A high-speed chase came to a violent end Sunday when the suspect drove his Buick the wrong way on Interstate 26 and collided nearly head on with a Charleston couple's Mini Cooper.

The driver of the Buick and the two people in the Mini Cooper were hospitalized Sunday night. Their conditions were not immediately known.

Spencer Pryor, public information officer for the North Charleston Police Department, said officers tried to pull over 45-year-old Rufus Ravenel at Rivers Avenue and Dunlap Street around 5:45 p.m.

Ravenel kept going, striking a vehicle at the intersection of Rivers Avenue and Eagle Drive, Pryor said. The driver of that vehicle was not hurt.

Pryor said Ravenel at some point drove onto I-26 and led authorities on a chase toward Charleston. The Buick got to the Rutledge Avenue exit when it turned around on the interstate and headed westbound in the eastbound lanes.

The Buick struck the Mini Cooper on the front driver's side near Exit 220, Lance Cpl. Bob Beres of the S.C. Highway Patrol said.

Beres said Ravenel was taken to Medical University Hospital.

He said the occupants of the Mini Cooper were Michael George Joost, 58, and his wife, Rita Joost, 57. They were taken to Roper Hospital.

Ravenel was charged late Sunday with failure to stop for blue lights and reckless driving. More charges are pending, Pryor said.

Pryor did not release the reason for the attempted traffic stop and said he did not know the exact path the suspect's vehicle took. The speeds traveled during the chase also were not released.

Eastbound traffic on the interstate was shut down for at least two hours.