A routine Sunday afternoon stop for gas turned into a life-altering nightmare for one South Carolina woman, and the whole thing traces back to a driver with a grudge and a gun. What started as a road rage chase through northeast Columbia ended in a massive fireball at a local gas station, leaving three cars destroyed, two people hospitalized, and one woman now recovering from severe burns after undergoing skin graft surgery.
Olivia Rembert Finch was simply pumping gas after leaving church on the morning of May 17 when a road rage incident she had nothing to do with came crashing into her life. Investigators say a woman fleeing another driver lost control, crashed into the pump where Finch was standing, and triggered the fire that left her severely burned. “I thought I was going to die. I thought that was it for me,” she later said.
Finch was pinned in the blaze and had to crawl through a gap to escape, then rolled on the ground to put out the flames on her clothing before bystanders were able to help her. She is now at home recovering from burns to her hands, legs, and feet, all severe enough to require skin graft surgery.
RCSD Sgt. Bryce Hughes called it “an absolutely crazy situation that didn’t have to occur,” and that sentiment is hard to argue with. What began as a dispute between drivers on the road managed to pull in completely innocent bystanders, consume three vehicles, and leave a once-busy gas station with little more to show for itself than black soot, caution tape, and a missing pump.
How a Road Rage Incident Turned Into a Three-Car Pileup
Richland County deputies were initially dispatched around 1 p.m. on May 17 after a caller reported being chased by another vehicle.
While deputies were en route, the incident escalated to a multiple-vehicle collision with a vehicle on fire at the Spinx gas station. The Columbia Fire Department was already working to extinguish the flames by the time law enforcement arrived. Investigators say the woman being chased reportedly saw the other driver brandish a firearm before pursuing her, sending her into a panicked attempt to escape. That escape ended when she lost control of her vehicle, jumped an embankment, and plowed directly into a gas pump.
Two other people who happened to be pumping gas on either side of that same pump were also caught up in the crash. They described a terrifying sequence in which one minute, they were going about their afternoon, and the next, a loud bang sent everything around them into flames. Three cars were ultimately damaged by the fire, and two people were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, though Finch’s recovery has proven to be anything but minor.
Witnesses Describe the Chaos at the Gas Station
Neighbor Bill Williams was watching from nearby when the chaos broke out that Sunday afternoon, and the word he reached for was “horrific.” His first thought was not about the fire itself but about all the other people who might have been standing at pumps when it happened. “My major concern was how many other people were injured because there were people at the pumps,” Williams said. It is a chilling detail that underscores how differently this story could have ended. A gas station on a Sunday afternoon is rarely empty, and this one was no exception.
By the time reporters returned to the scene days later, what remained told its own grim story. Black soot covered the area, caution tape cordoned off the affected pumps, and one gas pump was entirely missing from the station, which had otherwise reopened for business. The kind of damage that takes seconds to create and far longer to fully reckon with.
Where the Investigation Stands Now
The Richland County Sheriff’s Department noted that the vehicle that had been following and allegedly threatening the woman left the area before the crash occurred. Investigators say the vehicle was gone before deputies arrived, and no arrests have been announced as of this writing. The investigation remains active.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Richland County Sheriff’s Department at 803-576-3000 or submit an anonymous tip through Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC. Investigators are still gathering surveillance footage from the area and working with both parties involved in the original road rage dispute to establish a full timeline of events.
A Survivor Counting Her Blessings
Olivia Finch is home now, healing slowly, with burns on her hands, legs, and feet as daily reminders of how close she came to not walking out of that parking lot at all. Her car is gone. Her body is scarred. And yet, by her own account, gratitude is the dominant feeling. “I was grateful. I just kept thanking God that I was alive and that I could make it out,” she said.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help cover Finch’s growing medical expenses, including the costs associated with her skin graft surgery and ongoing recovery. She had pulled into that station because it was familiar, because it was her regular spot, and because stopping for gas after church on a Sunday is about as routine as life gets. Within moments, she found herself trapped in a fire that destroyed vehicles, sent people to the hospital, and left her facing months of recovery. It’s the kind of event that reminds people how quickly an ordinary day can change.