Quint Priest was arriving home a little after midnight after working second shift at INA Bearing in Cheraw when he heard sirens and saw blue lights down at the end of Sherwood Drive. Curiosity piqued, he walked out into the front yard to see what the commotion was. A few houses down from his there were several Sheriff's Department cruisers with blue lights flashing, and he could see the reflection of blue lights on a Nissan pickup truck that was down in a ditch. As he stood out there gathering in the scene, my brother Matt appeared out of the darkness in a full-tilt boogie run. He raced past Quint and without breaking stride Matt turned his head and said "What's up San Quentin?" Dumbfounded, Quint watched Matt race around the corner as four officers also appeared out of the inky blackness in hot pursuit and also rounded the corner of his house. A few moments later he heard a rustling in the shrubs on the corner of the house and saw Matt pop out and take off in the other direction. Matt, once again without breaking stride, said "Don't tell them which way I went" as he passed Quint, looking for all the world like Usain Bolt in the 100 meter dash. Quint was speechless as he watched Matt haul it across several yards, heading in the general direction of Pinecrest Drive. The gaggle of officers soon reappeared, huffing and puffing as they gave pursuit in the opposite direction.
It was a story Matt loved to tell! Matt had been up at The Silver Moon partaking of his beloved Coor's Light and decided it was time to get something to eat. A Sheriff's Deputy had been parked across the Bypass from The Silver Moon and decided to initiate a traffic stop but Matt had other ideas. Matt led them on a high-speed chase through the neighborhood before losing control of the Nissan and putting it in a ditch. He then exited the truck and did the only thing he could think of which was to run! He took off and made the valiant attempt, outfoxing the Deputies for most of the chase until he slipped on the dew-covered grass in Freddie Jones' yard and was soon cuffed.
At the memorial service for Matt I spoke with Warren McColl who was a classmate of Matt's and also happened to be the officer in pursuit. He told me how Matt had them beat and how he had taken a couple of corners at 60 mph, that little Nissan in a full-sideways drift through the corners. Warren confided in me that he had never seen such a display of driving skill and secretly hoped Matt would have gotten away. We had a good laugh over the incident and I thanked Warren for not shooting him. Warren then said something I'll never forget. He said that Matt was the nicest guy he had ever put cuffs on, that Matt laughed and joked with them about the incident. Matt told him that he wanted them to have a little fun, and that he was "testing" them to see if they were capable of pursuit. Warren told me that he had a good time that night and that he thanked Matt for the excitement. I sure do miss that crazy guy!