Update: Van Sought After Man Struck, Dragged in Earlewood

Columbia Police need help locating a van being sought in connection with the death of a man in the Earlewood community Sunday night. 

A man, identified Monday by Richland County Coroner Gary Watts as 52-year-old Calvin Griffith Smith of Columbia, was killed after he was dragged more than 1,600 feet by a van with an attached trailer during an altercation, according to preliminary evidence.

The victim and another man were arguing over a cell phone at the 1000 block of Union Street around 9 p.m. Sunday, according to the department.

The argument turned physical and both men were seen fighting between the rear of the van and the attached trailer, investigators said.

Witnesses told investigators another person, possibly a Hispanic male, may have tried to break up the fight. The man, moments after, got into the van and drove away from the scene.

The men were still fighting but were in between the van and the trailer at that point, witnesses told police. 

One man was able to break free as the van was in motion.  He was later found walking in the area of Columbia Avenue with severe injuries, police said. He was treated at a local hospital and has since been released.

Smith, police said, became entangled underneath the trailer and died as a result of being dragged by the vehicle.

An autopsy conducted Monday showed Smith died from multiple trauma, Watts said.

The van — described as a blue/silver Dodge mini-van with a white, enclosed trailer — was captured by surveillance cameras in the area of Sunset Drive and Main Street.  The van may have windshield damage, police said.

Anyone with information about the incident should call Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.