Driver facing new charges in fatal DUI-related wreck near Travelers Rest Speedway

Daniel J. Gross
The Greenville News
Madison Bagwell, 19, is charged with DUI in connection to a wreck that killed a 17-year-old near Travelers Rest.

Madison Michelle Bagwell, 19, charged with DUI in a crash that killed a 17-year-old and injured three others, is facing new charges while more agencies are getting involved in the investigation.

Bagwell was charged with DUI resulting in death, two counts of DUI with great bodily injury, child endangerment and possession of marijuana on Saturday night. The Jeep Cherokee she was driving while leaving the Travelers Rest Speedway veered off of U.S. 25 and overturned, striking a guardrail.

Jessica Adams, a Pickens County High School senior, died in a hospital a few hours after the crash. Two 13-year-olds and a 20-year-old were also passengers and were hospitalized. Their conditions were unknown as of Thursday morning.

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Bagwell was issued additional misdemeanor charges of open container and possession of alcohol by a minor on Wednesday, according to jail records and online court records.

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The penalty for a possession of alcohol by a minor charge is a $262.50 fine. The penalty for the open container charge is a $257.50 fine, according to court records.

The state Highway Patrol has been investigating the wreck since Saturday though the State Law Enforcement Division began investigating the case on Monday. Agents are determining whether any criminal violations involving alcohol contributed to the crash since Bagwell is under the legal drinking age.

MORE:Teen charged in crash that killed Pickens High senior was out on bond for previous DUI

MORE:SLED probing the DUI-related wreck that killed 17-year-old in Greenville County

Lt. Ryan Flood, a spokesman for the Greenville County Sheriff's Office, said the Sheriff's Office was asked to assist SLED in its investigation on Wednesday.

He said SLED deals with charges involving the illegal purchasing of alcohol or illegally assisting minors with obtaining alcohol.

"They oversea the whole alcohol enforcement when it comes to ABC laws," Flood said. "They have the administrative powers where they can pull licenses."

A makeshift memorial was created at the site on U.S. 25 in Travelers Rest where 17-year-old Jessica Adams was killed on Oct. 13 from a DUI-related wreck.

No one else has been charges relating to the wreck as of Thursday.

Bagwell, Adams and the other three passengers had been at the Travelers Rest Speedway during a racing event. None of them had raced that night, but Adams had raced there before, said Eddie Ray, the owner of the speedway.

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A visitation will be held for Adams will be held Thursday from noon to 3 p.m. with  a funeral service to follow at Dillard Memorial Funeral Home in Pickens.

When Bagwell crashed Saturday, she was was already facing a DUI charge and out on bond in an unrelated case out of Pickens County from November 9, 2017, court records show. She was charged with DUI first offense, according to the ticket, and was released on a $2,000 personal recognizance bond while awaiting a jury trial.

Jessica Adams, 17, died early Sunday morning after a single-vehicle wreck on US-25 in Greenville County