A Lexington County sheriff’s deputy “failed to follow safety protocols and training” causing the driver of another car to hit a South Carolina Highway Patrol Trooper during a routine traffic stop, according to a lawsuit filed by the injured trooper in mid-November.
The deputy, Dave Witter, stopped abruptly in an active lane of traffic without turning on his emergency lights or hazards, the lawsuit said. That, in turn, caused drivers behind him to slam on brakes and one driver, Jerrod Ricks, to lose control of his vehicle and hit Master Trooper Wayne H. LaBounty, who was conducting the stop along U.S. 1/Augusta Highway in Lexington County.
“It’s certainly against all best practices of law enforcement to stop in the middle of a four-lane road, an active lane of travel without putting on your lights. There’s no reason [Witter] should’ve done that and that set off a chain of events where vehicles driving behind him had to abruptly stop, slow down and avoid hitting him,” Robert F. Goings, an attorney with Goings Law Firm representing LaBounty, told The State…