Bond Not Set for Driver of a Fatal Hit-And-Run

An Easley man charged with leaving the scene of a fatal crash in Pickens County received no bond in court on Tuesday morning.

Rufus Raiden III was returned to Pickens County on Monday afternoon to face charges that he fled the scene of a fatal accident that killed 24-year-old Ryan Crain early Saturday morning, according to Assistant Pickens County Sheriff Tim Morgan.

Raiden was arrested on Monday at a bus station in Columbia, after S.C. Highway Patrol received a tip, deputies said.

Raiden has an extensive record in both Pickens and Greenville counties that includes at least nine traffic violations since 1990 in Greenville and six traffic violations in Pickens County, according to court records. 

Charges against Raiden have included speeding, two open container violations, negligent driving, property damage and two DUI charges. Raiden was charged with a first DUI offense in Greenville County on Sept. 10, 2009 and also has a pending DUI charge in Anderson County from February 2010.

Raiden was allegedly driving a Cheverolet pickup truck on Pelzer Highway in Easley early Saturday morning when he veered into the westbound lane and struck Crain's Cheverolet Cavalier.

Crain graduated from Wren High School in Anderson and was the son of the Rev. Troy Crain of the Southside Baptist Church in Honea Path, according to the Anderson Independent Mail.