Saul White Blvd. & W. Montague Ave. — Approximate Crash Intersection
A North Charleston police officer was driving nearly 90 mph with no patrol lights or siren on when he slammed into the back of Bruce Watson III’s Ford Focus in September 2024, leaving Watson with injuries his attorney says he is still being treated for more than two years later. Watson has now sued the city, and North Charleston has denied nearly all of the allegations.
A Mile Covered in About a Minute
According to the Post and Courier, Watson was driving on Saul White Boulevard on Sept. 7, 2024, and turned right onto West Montague Avenue toward Interstate 26 after waiting at a stop sign. Officer Edward Jackson struck the back of Watson’s car at 87 mph in a 40-mph zone, and the newspaper reports it took Jackson around a minute to cover a mile near Tanger Outlets before the crash. Jackson briefly slowed at two intersections as the lights there shifted from yellow to red, but sped through both without activating his blue lights.
The collision rendered both vehicles inoperable. Watson’s Ford Focus was totaled, sustaining $10,000 in damage, while the department’s 2021 Dodge Charger that Jackson was driving sustained $15,000 in damage, according to an NCPD report cited by the newspaper’s report. Jackson was reportedly not visibly injured, per NCPD and Highway Patrol reports, but Watson is still undergoing surgeries and treatment for complications from his injuries more than two years after the wreck, his attorney says.
Responding to an Alarm, Without Emergency Equipment On
Jackson was responding to an open-door call at a nearby business after a security alarm sounded, according to Major M.W. Aiken II. North Charleston officers typically respond to those calls in additional units to check unsecured entrances for trespassers or possible crimes, Aiken said. But the officer drove without any emergency lights or siren activated, per the NCPD report referenced by the Post and Courier…