WINNSBORO – The driver of the vehicle in a fatal hit and run collision that occurred Sept. 6 on 11th Street in Winnsboro has been located and is in the Fairfield County Detention Center.
Timothy James Thompson, 35, of Winnsboro has been charged with ‘leaving the scene with death,’ according to Master Trooper Gary Miller with the S.C. Highway Patrol.
The vehicle he was driving at the time of the collision wa a 2004 Chevrolet Impala.
The case remains under investigation by the Highway Patrol.
WINNSBORO – Fairfield County Coroner Chris Hill is releasing the name of the person who was fatally injured in a hit and run around 1 am Sunday morning.
Bruce Antonio Gibbs, age 33, of Winnsboro was struck by an unknown vehicle on 11th Street in Winnsboro. Gibbs was pronounced deceased on the scene.
This incident remains under investigation by the Fairfield County Coroner’s Office and the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
The Voice will update this story as information is available.
WINNSBORO – The S.C. Highway Patrol is looking for the driver of a car that left the scene after it hit and killed a pedestrian in Winnsboro Sunday morning.
The incident happened about 1 a.m., near the intersection of 11th and Maple Streets in Winnsboro, said Master Trooper Gary Miller.
A car, thought to be a 2000 to 2005 Chevrolet Impala, was heading west on 11th Street when it ran off the road to the right and mounted the sidewalk, hitting and killing the pedestrian, according to Miller.
The driver left the scene, and Miller said Highway Patrol did not know what direction the Chevy was heading. The crash remains under investigation by Highway Patrol.
The Fairfield County Coroner’s Office will publicly identify the pedestrian after notifying the next of kin.
The Impala may have suffered damage to its front end, or a headlight, in the wreck, which could help identify it.
Anyone with information on the driver or the collision is asked to call the Highway Patrol at 803-896-9621 or 800-768-1501, or submit a tip to CrimeStoppers at 888-CRIME-SC or submit an online tip. Tips can also be texted to *HP.
This is an ongoing investigation and more information will be posted as it becomes available.
Story updated 9/8/2020.
FAIRFIELD COUNTY – The planning process is moving forward for park improvements around the Alston Trailhead of the Palmetto Trail that runs through western Fairfield County, and now there’s a visual: a recently created rendition lays out what the project will look like once it’s complete (see pages 4 and 5).
The finished project holds the promise of tourist revenue not only for western Fairfield, but for the entire county, County Administrator Jason Taylor said.
In the plan, the trail connects to a hard-surface loop that links all of the proposed Trailhead amenities: a kayak launch, fishing pier, picnic areas, both primitive and developed campsites, picnic shelters with fireplaces, an amphitheater that is ADA-viewing compliant and more. There’s also an expanded gravel parking area planned for the trailhead.
A grant from outdoor outfitter REI will provide two new primitive campsites that should take shape in the next couple of weeks. A total of six campsites are planned for the grounds.
Roe said that in addition to the information kiosk that was recently completed, a bicycle repair station – a bicycle stand with a variety of tools and an air pump – will be installed within the next two weeks or so, as will as a counter that will track the number of people who use the trail, all thanks to a grant from Fairfield Forward.
Taylor added, “Having the Alston Trailhead is a tremendous asset for Fairfield County. We are delighted to have the opportunity to partner with Palmetto Conservation Foundation and others, like REI and Fairfield Forward, to make this great asset to the community even better for generations to come.”
Fairfield County has dedicated the funding to design the improvements and has secured local granite to construct several structures including a new kayak launch that is ADA compliant.
While the project is a partnership between Fairfield County and The Palmetto Conservation Foundation, the Foundation manages the trail. Additional partners are being sought to help with funding and construction.
“We’re just really excited to have this opportunity to work with the county to provide hikers, bikers, fishermen and kayakers from all over the state with a multi-recreational trailhead,” said Mary Roe, executive director of the Palmetto Trail. “The Alston Trailhead is the gateway to one of the Palmetto Trail’s most popular passages, the Peak to Prosperity Passage.”
Trail and county officials say some pieces of the two-year project, like the REI-funded campsites, can be completed soon. Other parts will take longer because of the need to obtain permits and to find partners to help fund and/or build the amenities.
If the architecture of the planned picnic shelters looks familiar, that’s not an accident. The choice is intentional; it comes from a book that was used by the 1930s infrastructure-building and jobs program that built much of the U.S. park infrastructure, Clauson said.
The design, making use of local wood for the shelter and granite for the fireplaces, is intended to be sturdy and timeless while showcasing the granite that’s played an important role in Fairfield County’s history.
Clauson said the granite for the structures is being reclaimed from locations around the county, both from public property and through private donations.
Among the sources: a collection of massive stones that fell from a railroad car in the 1950s, which the county has had ever since; some old structures in the county; and a local church which has donated its old stone fenceposts.
While there will be no restrooms on the site, Clauson said — a preference of the foundation which also reflects the fact that the site lacks water, sewer, and power — portable toilets will likely be provided during special events in the amphitheater.
The Palmetto Trail, a statewide trail network, stretches from the mountains to the coast. The Peak to Prosperity segment (or passage) of the trail, which was created from a former railroad bed, is the part that runs through western Fairfield County. That 10.7-mile stretch of trail is known for its numerous trestles.
The scenic bridge that crosses the Broad River and connects Pomaria to the Alston Trailhead is a popular spot for wedding, graduation and other special occasion photographs.
The project, Clauson said, is aimed at improving the quality of life for western Fairfield County and all county residents while also drawing people into Fairfield County to experience the sights the county has to offer.
“There’s a lot of history on that site, and we’re assuming if people get a taste of it, they’ll be drawn to the town as well to see what else is in the county,” Clauson said. “Basically, we want this area to highlight the history of Fairfield County in a tangible way and be an attractive recreational asset for generations to come.”
BLYTHEWOOD – In the predawn hours of Sunday morning, one by one, 10 Fairfield Electric Cooperative linemen began pulling their pickup trucks up to the big sliding gate that leads to the bucket truck garage area of the company’s Blythewood headquarters.
As the men hauled luggage, boots and other gear from their pickup trucks onto the floor of the garage and then into bucket trucks, crew leader Bubba Tanner handed out new hats and tee shirts imprinted with the company’s logo.
A few minutes later, the linemen climbed into seven bucket trucks and slowly pulled onto Blythewood road. The big white caravan then turned south onto I-77.
Their destination was Lake Charles, Louisiana, where they would spend the next two weeks helping a sister cooperative in Lake Charles, Jeff Davis Electric Cooperative, rebuild hundreds of transmission towers, repair substations and reset thousands of power poles and lines downed by Hurricane Laura four days earlier.
Making landfall as a category 4 storm, Laura had lashed the Gulf Coast from Port Arthur, Texas to Cameron, Louisiana with 150 mph winds and a 20-foot surge of ocean. It was the strongest storm system to hit the area in generations, killing at least 3 people in Louisiana (14 across its path) with damage estimated between $8 and $12 billion in Louisiana alone.
Lake Charles was one of the areas hit the hardest.
“It’s my understanding that the entire system of Jeff Davis is with out power – none of their members had power after the storm,” Fairfield Electric’s Doug Payne, Vice President of Member Services, told The Voice.
Talking about the linemen’s mission, Bruce Bacon, CEO of Fairfield Electric, called it dangerous. He said the crew will work 12-hour days, from sun up until sun down, every day for two weeks under the most difficult of circumstances in the merciless, muggy Louisiana heat.
“Then we’ll bring them back and probably fly a fresh crew down to switch out,” Bacon said. “It’s dangerous work, and we worry about them getting tired and having accidents. It’s going to be at least eight weeks to get power restored to everyone, so we may be sending down more than one other crew.”
The Fairfield crew is one of hundreds from around the country that have converged on Lake Charles, according to Bacon. Photos of the staging area around Lake Charles’ Burton Coliseum show a sea of bucket trucks that have been sent to aid Jeff Davis Cooperative and its members.
“We always want to help cooperatives in other states because we know that, at some point, we could need help and we would hope they would come help us,” Bacon said. “Even now, in the midst of COVID-19, which makes things a little bit more precarious as far as what they have to do, we certainly want to help. I talk to our guys every day. They’re setting poles and working long days.”
They’ve also texted back photos of forging through downed trees and wading into storm water to do their work.
“Some of our contracting company’s like Lee Electric also sent crews,” Payne said. “They (Jeff Davis Cooperative) need all they help they can get to restore power as quickly and as safely as possible. It’s hard work. Trees are down all over where the crews are having to rebuild the entire system,” he said.
Payne said Fairfield Electric was eager to help and he commended the crew for going.
“Our guys had been working all week and then to head out Sunday morning for this – they’re a good crew,” Payne said.
WINNSBORO – A Fairfield Central High School student was the driver of a vehicle that was involved in a collision with another vehicle that took her life.
Abiyah Fee, 16, of Winnsboro, died in an accident which occurred at the intersection of East Peach Road and Highway 321, according to the S. C. Highway Patrol. The accident occurred at approximately 4:44 Monday afternoon.
Fee was entrapped in the vehicle and had to be extricated. She was pronounced dead a short time later at Prisma Health Richland, Fairfield County Coroner Chris Hill reported.
The accident remains under investigation by the Fairfield County Coroner’s Office and the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
“Our @FCHSGriffins mourns the loss of our own, Abiyah Fee, who was an outstanding scholar student in the Class of 2022,” Fairfield Central principal Tracie Swilley said in a statement on Twitter. “Prayers to the Fee Family, her friends/family & her Griffin Family. Rest in Heaven our Griffin.”
WINNSBORO – Jesse Ross Duke, 33, of Pine Isle Drive in the Blair area of Fairfield County has been arrested, according to Fairfield County Sheriff Will Montgomery.
In the early morning hours of Friday, Aug. 21, a Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office patrol deputy observed a suspicious vehicle in the area of SC 215 near McCrorey-Liston Elementary School.
Upon further investigation, the occupant of the vehicle, later identified as Duke, fled from the vehicle on foot. The vehicle was found to have recently been stolen from a location in Richland County. Duke was located at his residence on Pine Isle Drive where a search warrant was conducted.
During the search warrant, numerous stolen items, to include tools, firearms, computers and a golf cart, were recovered. More charges are expected from Fairfield, Richland and Lexington counties.
Investigators are currently working to identify owners of this recovered property.
This investigation is on-going and more details will be released later.
COLUMBIA – The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) advises residents to stay away from the smoke generated by a fire currently burning at Carolina Poly, a plastics manufacturing plant located in the city of Chester in Chester County.
Local officials are responding to the fire and can provide details about the incident.
“Odor is a primary indication that individuals need to move away from the vicinity of the fire,” said Rhonda Thompson, Director of DHEC’s Bureau of Air Quality. “For anyone near the industrial fire who can smell smoke or notice an odor that is not normally present, we recommend you temporarily leave the area.”
The chemical content of smoke varies depending on what is being burned, and industrial fires are different from wood fires. Smoke is made up mostly of particles, and no matter what’s burning, the small particles within smoke aren’t healthy to breathe. While larger particles are filtered out by the nose and upper respiratory tract, small particles can enter the lungs. People with pre-existing lung or heart disease are at higher risk for developing symptoms from breathing in smoke particles.
The direction of smoke can change quickly depending on wind direction and speed.
Residents in the area should adhere to the guidance of local officials and follow their local news outlets for updates and information.
BLYTHEWOOD – A Blythewood man with a lengthy record of drug and theft charges has pleaded not guilty to federal indictments stating that he trafficked women and dealt drugs from his home in the Round Top community of Blythewood.
Brian Leroy Watson, also known as “B” or “Lil B,” entered the plea at an arraignment hearing Thursday, the day of his arrest. He remains in federal custody, court records show.
Watson, 48, faces eight counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion; one count of attempted sex trafficking of children; and three drug-related counts, according to indictments obtained by The Voice.
James Rogers, a federal public defender, has been appointed to represent Watson.
U.S. Attorney Peter McCoy said in a statement that human trafficking is an “egregious crime,” one that federal investigators do not tolerate.
“That is why we work not only with our law enforcement partners to uncover and prosecute those who exploit others, but with support groups within the community that offer support services to human trafficking victims and educate the public about this unconscionable practice,” McCoy said.
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, whose agency assisted in the investigation that also included the FBI and Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office, said human trafficking is a reality in South Carolina.
“Working in partnership with other law enforcement agencies and most important, the community, is the key to stopping this horrible crime,” Lott said.
The 12-count indictment alleges human trafficking violations occurred between 2016 and 2019 in South Carolina. It also charges the suspect with distributing heroin and fentanyl, and with unlawfully operating a Blythewood dwelling for the purpose of storing and distributing heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, crack cocaine, and methamphetamine, according to the indictment.
Court records also state that prosecutors are also seeking an undisclosed sum of money “equal to all proceeds the Defendant obtained directly or indirectly as the result of the offenses charged in this indictment.” Prosecutors also are seeking, upon conviction, to seize a home on Round Top Church Road in Blythewood where the indictment says the drugs were manufactured.
The federal indictment isn’t Watson’s first brush with the law.
In 2018, he pleaded guilty to breach of trust and shoplifting, $2,000 or less. He also pleaded guilty in 2017 to receiving stolen goods, according to Richland County court records.
Watson pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted armed robbery in 2010 and was sentenced to seven years in prison, court records show.
The Richland County Public Index lists additional theft and drug-related charges dating back to at least 1990.
