Charlotte suspect charged for drugs in Chester SC DUI crash that killed child, hurt 3
Police in South Carolina have charged a Charlotte man with DUI and drug violations after a child was killed and another person was hurt in a two-vehicle crash on Interstate 77 in Chester County, according to officials and police records.
The child who died was a seven-year-old boy from North Carolina, said Terry Tinker, Chester County Coroner. Three members of his family, including a child sibling, and his parents, also were in the vehicle, Tinker said.
The names of the child who died and his family members have not been released.
The collision happened around 5:30 p.m. Sunday on I-77 near mile marker 67, said Troopers Nick Pye and Gary Miller of the S.C. Highway Patrol.
Suspect charged for DUI, drugs
A van driven by Jason Connell Palmer, 35, of Charlotte, collided with the SUV that had the four family members in it, troopers said. The SUV went off the highway and hit a tree.
Firefighters from Richburg Fire & Rescue, Chester County EMS, and other emergency responders went to the scene.
Palmer has been charged by the highway patrol with DUI resulting in death and DUI resulting in great bodily injury, according to troopers, Chester County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Grant Suskin, and jail records. Both those charges are felonies, South Carolina law states.
The DUI with death carries up to 25 years in prison for a conviction and the injury DUI carries up to 15 years for a conviction, South Carolina law shows.
Palmer also was charged by the highway patrol with possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana, and uninsured vehicle violation, according to South Carolina court documents and Chester County online jail records.
Palmer remains in the Chester County jail after bail for the DUI charges was denied in a court hearing Tuesday morning, according to Suskin and jail records..
This story was originally published July 12, 2022 at 12:13 PM.
