A suspect was arrested on a boat in a South Carolina beach town Thursday, hours after three pedestrians were struck and the driver ran away armed with a knife, Isle of Palms police said.
Two children and an adult were injured a little before 1 p.m. on Sullivan's Island, a coastal community near Charleston that is adjacent to Isle of Palms, said Sgt. Matthew Storen, an Isle of Palms police spokesperson.
"The suspect has been arrested. He is in custody. The area is now safe," Storen told NBC affiliate WCBD of Charleston late Thursday afternoon. "He was found on a boat."
There was no struggle in the arrest, Storen said. Police identified the suspect as Justin Collin Adams.
Sullivan’s Island Police Chief Glenn Meadows said at a news conference that he would not comment on the charges and that he has asked the Charleston County Sheriff's Office to lead the criminal investigation.
Police arrested Collins minutes before 6 p.m. after he was spotted by a helicopter, Meadows said. He did not comment on whether the crash was believed to have been intentional or accidental, citing the investigation.
None of the injuries were life-threatening. The adult and one child were taken to the hospital after the crash, and the other child was treated at the scene and released to parents, police said.
One of those taken to the hospital had been released by Thursday evening, and the second was due to be released, Meadows said.
"We’re thankful that those injuries were not as serious as we thought they were going to be," he said.
Calls about the wreck on Sullivan's Island came in around 12:50 p.m., police said.
The FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service were among the agencies that assisted in the investigation and the search for the driver, Meadows said. Checkpoints had been set up during the manhunt.
Collins was at the sheriff's office Thursday evening being interviewed "to determine why this happened, what went on and what charges," Charleston County Sheriff Carl Ritchie said.
"So we don't have those yet, what charges we're going to make," he said. "But there will be charges, obviously."
Sullivan's Island is a town of around 1,800 on the Atlantic coast around 5 miles outside Charleston and next to Isle of Palms.
