A South Carolina woman who fled the scene of a fatal crash to pick up her daughter from elementary school is heading to prison.
Kayla Tisdale, 38, Little River, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to felony driving under the influence resulting in death. Circuit Court Judge Michael Nettles sentenced Tisdale to 14 years behind bars. Under the negotiated plea agreement, she must serve at least 85 percent of her sentence before becoming eligible for supervised release. The conviction also gives Tisdale one strike under South Carolina’s three-strike law, meaning two more violent offense convictions would result in life without parole.
The fatal collision happened on the afternoon of April 4, 2025, on Sea Mountain Highway in North Myrtle Beach. According to prosecutors, Tisdale failed to yield to a motorcyclist at around 1:30 p.m. The rider, 62-year-old Steven Marshall, died almost instantly. Marshall had recently moved to the Myrtle Beach area from Pennsylvania after retiring from a 20-year career in law enforcement.
After striking Marshall, Tisdale drove away from the wreckage. She then drove to a local elementary school to pick up her daughter. Witnesses at the crash scene took photos of Tisdale’s license plate as she fled, allowing law enforcement to quickly identify her vehicle. Troopers with the South Carolina Highway Patrol eventually tracked her down and arrested her as she pulled up to a house.
Arresting troopers reported that Tisdale showed signs of gross intoxication. After investigators secured a search warrant for her blood, testing revealed a blood alcohol concentration of 0.19—nearly three times the legal driving limit of 0.08.
During the investigation by the Highway Patrol’s Multi-disciplinary Accident Investigation Team, Tisdale admitted she started drinking around 8:30 a.m. the morning of the crash. She told investigators she was drinking due to the stress of an ongoing federal investigation into her finances. She also claimed she did not remember buying her final drink, though surveillance video from a nearby Circle K captured the purchase.
Tisdale’s federal legal troubles were directly tied to an illegal scheme linked to drug trafficking. Just two months prior to Tuesday’s sentencing, she pleaded guilty in federal court to misprision of a felony for keeping $750,000 in cash and gold bullion. She is currently awaiting sentencing on that federal charge.
Brandon Lanier, the assistant solicitor who prosecuted the DUI case for the 15th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, said the outcome is a tragedy from all angles.
“This case serves as a stark reminder of the perils that stem from drinking and driving. Our community lost a career public servant, who spent the better part of 20 years attempting to save lives, simply because Ms. Tisdale chose to become grossly impaired before 9:00 a.m. that day,” Lanier said. “Today, we have no winners. Mr. Marshall’s family will never be made whole, and Ms. Tisdale’s young daughter will grow up without her mother at a pivotal point in her life. We are grateful to the witnesses who assisted the Highway Patrol in locating Ms. Tisdale, and we hope that this lengthy prison sentence will deter those who think about drinking and driving from ever doing so in the future.”
READ: URGENT: Venice Man With Dementia Missing, Possibly Headed To Tampa Or Pennsylvania
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox
