Lois Rao, whose son died after being hit during a traffic stop, speaks to reporters outside the Department of Public Safety building in Blythewood on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (Photo by Skylar Laird/SC Daily Gazette)
BLYTHEWOOD — After drivers struck three law enforcement officers in the span of a month, the state Highway Patrol will crack down on distracted and unsafe driving, officials said Monday.
The recent string of crashes began Aug. 10, when a box truck hit Highway Patrol Trooper Dennis Ricks during an early morning traffic stop in Orangeburg. Ricks died from his injuries three days later.
Around midnight Sept. 7, a truck hit Senior Trooper Mitchell Williams with its side mirror on Interstate 77 near Columbia. Williams went to a local hospital and was released the same day, according to the Department of Public Safety. Two days later, Master Trooper Wayne LaBounty was airlifted to a hospital after being hit during a traffic stop in Lexington County, according to the department…