Suspect arrested after attempting to crash through exit gates at nuclear plant in South Carolina

SENECA, S.C. — A driver tried to crash through exit gates at a nuclear plant near Seneca, South Carolina, Thursday night.

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Security at the plant about an hour prior to the incident had asked the same car to leave when it tried to enter the plant, according to The Associated Press.

Oconee County Sheriff’s spokesman Jimmy Watt in a statement obtained by the AP said that a pop-up security barrier stopped the car at the Oconee Nuclear Plant Thursday night by Seneca around 8 p.m.

The driver then backed up and tried to go down a dirt road in the area as security with Duke Energy attempted to stop him. The man allegedly hit the guards before driving through a fence and off the plant’s property, Watt said, according to the AP.

Investigators said that he drove by the plant and went down a highway. According to the AP, a homeowner reportedly fired warning shots toward the driver.

The Pickens County Sheriff’s Office said it has been working with the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to locate the suspect involved in the incident at the nuclear plant.

The sheriff’s office said around 3 p.m., deputies located a car that they believed was involved in the incident. It was located in the woods by a private residence by Stoneybrook Circle. The car was abandoned and looked like it had gotten stuck. It was learned that the suspect had abandoned it Thursday night around 9 p.m. The suspect possibly got a ride out of the area.

The sheriff’s office said he was later located and taken into custody. The process for him to be turned over to the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office is underway.

The suspect was identified by the sheriff’s office as Doyle Whisenhunt.

Oconee County Sheriff Mike Crenshaw said it is not clear what connections the man had to the nuclear plant, the AP reported.

“We don’t have any evidence this is any type of domestic terrorism,” Crenshaw said at a Friday news conference, according to the AP.

“Duke Energy has comprehensive security plans and a well-trained security workforce in place. A vehicle entered an administrative gate, but was not able to access the plant due to our multiple layers of security,” Duke Energy said in a statement obtained by the AP.