electrician in Kershaw, SC

The incident took place on Sunday and involved a full-sized blue truck and full-sized silver truck on Lockhart road.

KERSHAW, S.C. — The Kershaw County Sheriff's Office is looking for witnesses in a suspected road rage incident that took place on Sunday, August 14.

The suspected road rage incident led to a physical altercation on Lockhart Road near North Central High School, according to deputies. It all took place Sunday (8/14/22) at approximately 4:45 p.m. and involved a full-sized silver truck and a full-sized blue SUV, both pulling trailers.

According to deputies, the victim, who was driving the silver truck said he was driving north on Lockhart Road when he noticed a blue SUV pulling a trailer in front of him that was leaving the roadway and throwing rocks up onto his truck.

He then decided to pass the truck. His first attempt failed as the SUV increased to speeds of over 80 mph in a 55 mph zone.

After a few more attempts, the man was finally able to make a successful pass on a double yellow line. He then noticed the SUV flashing the headlights at him.

Believing the driver was signaling to him that something was wrong with the trailer he was pulling, he came to a stop in the roadway in front of the suspect vehicle.

The incident took place Sunday (8/14/22) at approximately 4:45pm and involved a full-sized silver truck and a full-sized blue SUV, both pulling trailers.

The victim then exited his vehicle in the middle of the road as the suspect vehicle approached. The suspect vehicle then struck the driver’s side of the victim's vehicle while he was standing in the open doorway.

After both vehicles stopped in the road, deputies say a fight ensued. The victim called 911 after the altercation was over.

The driver and occupants of the blue SUV stated that when the silver truck passed them, he swerved in front of then, cutting them off, at which time they locked the brakes up and started fishtailing. Because of the trailer they were pulling, they said they went off the left side of the road and back before regaining control.

The silver truck then stopped in the roadway a few hundred yards down the road. The driver of the blue SUV then attempted to drive pass the silver truck. The driver of the blue SUV struck the silver truck on the driver’s side to avoid striking the complainant or on-coming vehicles.

After the vehicles stopped, all four occupants stated the victim attempted to pull the driver of the blue SUV out of his seat and assault him. The other three occupants then exited the vehicle to get the complainant off of the driver.

No other witnesses were present and no video of the incident was available.

The incident is under investigation.

Deputies feel other vehicles passing by could have witnessed this incident. Please contact your KCSO at 803-425-1512 if you have any information on this incident.

KERSHAW COUNTY, S.C. (WACH) — A now former Kershaw County deputy has been cleared of an investigation after a viral video captured him punching a suspect in the face during an arrest.

On August 15th, Fifth Circuit Solicitor Byron Gibson, said there was “insufficient evidence” to prosecute former Kershaw County deputy Erin Miles for the offense of Assault and Battery.

“The small video clip posted to social media looked bad. But, it did not tell the entire story," said Sheriff Lee Boan. "The complete investigation revealed what actually happened.”

On May 9th, officials said the Kershaw County drug unit was involved with arresting a suspect wanted for possession with intent to distribute marijuana, failure to stop for blue lights, resisting arrest, driving without a driver's license, and child endangerment.

Those charged stemmed from an incident on April 6th where Miles was the primary officer on the case.

The video obtained from a viewer appears to show former Deputy Erin Miles striking the suspect with a closed fist during the arrest process, according to officials.

According to a written report by Miles on the day of the incident, he said he was trying to get the suspect's hand from out of a couch cushion and behind his back. While doing so, he struck the suspect in the shoulder twice, but claims he unintentionally nicked him in the chin area 'on accident.'

Miles was immediately suspended with pay and the the Kershaw County Sheriff's Office asked The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division SLED to investigate. However, Boan said the suspension was lifted within a week and Miles was put on administrative duty.

"After a review of policy and laws, there was nothing that he had done that violated either one," said Boan.

Boan said in a statement that the decision to lift the suspension came after reviewing the case, which included the body camera video, with the KCSO internal affairs unit, the use of force board, and a citizens panel consisting of several members and leaders of the Kershaw Co. community.

Boan said Miles resigned on June 24th from the Sheriff's Office and no longer works in law enforcement.

Miles joined the force in September 2019 and was promoted to investigator in November 2020.

"They're trying to do the best they can, and then it's like if they do anything that appears in anyway that is not perfect, then they're put under a microscope," said Boan.

WACH Fox News requested the body camera video from SLED.

An official at the department said they will not be releasing it at this time.

The potholes are at the entrance of the bus lot. But some parents want to know when they'll be fixed.

CAMDEN, S.C. — Potholes can be annoying, but they can also be dangerous.

News19 received a call from a concerned viewer over the potholes at the entrance of the Jackson Elementary School bus driver lot, so we asked the district what it was doing to fix the issue.

"It's just a slow settling and we're not worried," Billy Smith, the chief operations officer for Kershaw County School District, said.

One parent, Lucy Perry, drops her first grader off in the car line and said she can see them from her car and it concerns her.

"The bus shakes when they go through them," she said. "It seems like they are getting bigger, they were there last year and I thought they were going to fix them during the summer but they didn't."

Smith said that the drivers should be fine as long as they're obeying the speed limit.

"There's a 5mph speed limit through here and if they do that they should be fine," he said. "Our number one priority is the safety and security of all our people, bus drivers, bus riders, even our delivery truck folks. If we thought this was a safety issue, we would have done something already."

However, the district is taking the steps to fix the issue nonetheless, he said.

"We already have three quotes, we're ready to go, we just need the dollars to do it," Smith said. "This is a top priority on the list of deferred maintenance items for this school."

There is no official date for when the project will be completed as they need funding and time. And class being in session also creates a dilemma.

"Of course, we would not be able to do a project like this while school is in. We would have to wait until ... Christmas if we should get money, and we're looking to maybe get money after October," he said. "So, it could be over Christmas, but it may be as be as late as spring break or even early summer of 2023."

One in 3 African American blood donors is a match for people with sickle cell disease

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The American Red Cross wants to remind you that September is Sickle Cell Awareness Month and the organization is actively seeking donors to meet the needs of those with sickle cell disease.

Sickle cell disease is the most common inherited blood disorder in the United States. The disorder affects more than 100,000 people across the nation, most of whom are African American.

The disease distorts soft, round blood cells and turns them hard and crescent-shaped --resembling a sickle -- which can cause severe pain. The misshaped blood cells can get caught in blood vessels, potentially leading to stroke and organ failure, said Rod Tolbert, CEO of the American Red Cross South Carolina Region.

While regular blood transfusions can manage the extreme pain and life-threatening complications faced by those with sickle cell disease, some may develop an immune response against blood from donors that is not closely matched to their own. That is the reason the Red Cross is seeking blood donations from the African American community.

According to the Red Cross, most individuals who are Black have unique structures on their red blood cells that are not often found in other donor populations, 1 in 3 African American blood donors is a match for people with sickle cell disease.

In addition to taking donations, the Red Cross is screening all blood, platelet and plasma donations from self-identified African American donors for the sickle cell trait. This additional screening will provide Black donors with an additional health insight and help the Red Cross identify compatible blood types more quickly to help patients with sickle cell disease. Donors can expect to receive sickle cell trait screening results, if applicable, within one to two weeks through the Red Cross Blood Donor App and the online donor portal at RedCrossBlood.org.

To donate blood, download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit RedCrossBlood.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or enable the Blood Donor Skill on any Alexa Echo device to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in.

There are donor opportunities scheduled throughout South Carolina through September 30, including:

Barnwell: 9/13/2022: 9 a.m. - 1 p.m., Energy Solutions, 740 Osborn Rd

Batesburg-Leesville

Camden

Cayce: 9/18/2022: 12:30 p.m. - 5 p.m., Broadacres Baptist Church, 2350 Taylor Rd.

Chapin: 9/19/2022: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., American Legion Chapin Post 193 Inc., 102 Lexington Avenue

Columbia

Denmark: 9/14/2022: 12 p.m. - 5 p.m., Denmark Technical College/ Samuel L. Faust Building, 500 Soloman Blatt Blvd.

Elgin

Gilbert: 9/26/2022: 2 p.m. - 6 p.m., Gilbert First Baptist Church, 441 Lewie Street

Irmo

Leesville

Lexington

Newberry

Orangeburg: 9/15/2022: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., South Carolina State University, 300 College Street NE

Sumter

Winnsboro: 9/19/2022: 2 p.m. - 7 p.m., First United Methodist Church of Winnsboro, 109 College street

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources released a report explaining how water might be playing a role in keeping earthquakes going

KERSHAW COUNTY, S.C. — A group of local seismologists thinks they may have narrowed down the cause of recent earthquakes in Kershaw County to the Wateree River.

The theory, detailed in a new report issued Monday, has come together from geologists with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the University of South Carolina and the College of Charleston.

They believe the initial earthquake may have allowed water from the Wateree River to seep into new cracks that opened from the original December earthquake, which has now set off additional tremors in the area.

Scott Howard, a geologist with SCDNR explains how the first earthquake changed the dynamic.

"When the first earthquake happened, what it may have done is re-adjusted the system and may have caused more fracture prosody and permeability, greater permeability as a result of that and each earthquake is changing that system, so how do you correlate that? Well, it isn't a one-on-one thing, so it isn't like the water levels in the river change and that causes an earthquake, it's just that the proximity of the water may be a way of getting water into the fracture system," Howard said.

"Well, I go back to the point ... if you look at the history of earthquakes in the southeast, you look at where they occur ... 90% of them are occurring in stream valleys, and they are occurring where there's water," Howard said.

Elgin resident William Pate has felt at least three of the tremors and says he's glad some research is being done. "I'm glad someone's looking into, we've all been freaked out about it around here."

Howard said all in all, the report was to help get information out to the public.

"We wanted to get out some good geological information about where the geological community stood on these earthquakes."

As for those in Kershaw County, the Town of Elgin plans to host a Virtual Earthquake Town Hall on Wednesday, June 27th.