North Charleston woman charged after driving into church with child in car

North Charleston police responded to Grace City Church on Cosgrove Avenue shortly before noon on October 27 after reports that a vehicle had struck the building, WCIV reported. Officers found a 21-year-old woman standing near a car with significant front-end damage, and her young child was also at the scene. Both appeared distressed, according to the police report.

The woman told officers she had been at a nearby convenience store where she encountered the father of her child and his new girlfriend, who she said spat on her and attacked her. She said she fled the area but lost control of her vehicle and crashed into the church, WCBD reported.

However, police reviewed surveillance footage from the convenience store and church that showed a mutual physical altercation between the woman and the other woman outside the store. Afterward, the father and the other woman walked toward the church, and the woman got into her car and appeared to drive toward them in an attempt to hit them, according to the police report.

The vehicle missed the two individuals but struck the church, causing disabling damage to the building, WCIV said. Charleston County EMS evaluated the child after the crash, and relatives took the child to a hospital for further treatment.

The woman was charged with unlawful conduct toward a child by North Charleston Police Department, according to both WCIV and WCBD.

Investigations are ongoing as authorities continue to review the incident and its circumstances.