2 Cop cars respond to a call = 1 hell of a mess
Authorities say two Cayce police cruisers collided off Knox Abbott Drive near 9th Avenue. It happened on "K" Avenue sometime before 10:30 Wednesday night.
The crash involved an unmarked cruiser and a marked police car. The unmarked cruiser is said to have ended up in a yard of a house on "K" Avenue.
Most of the information we have from officials right now is that the crash is still under investigation. We went to the scene and talked to some of the first people there Wednesday night.
Witnesses say the wreck sent one Cayce police officer to the hospital, and left two police cruisers with heavy damage.
Ryan Rucker and Allison Keisler heard the crash from Ryan's home next door.
"All of a sudden we heard a big crash, and then we heard a bunch of screaming."
The pair rushed outside to investigate.
"His neighbors were all coming down the street, trying to figure out what was going on, and I tried to stand in the road and take a picture," recalled Allison Keisler. "And the cop was like, 'no ma'am, you can't take a picture.'"
"So, I took a photo there from my yard and sent it to WIS," said Rucker, pointing to the spot.
Ryan and Allison say they noticed right away that neither cruiser had their lights turned on, at first.
"There were no lights on until two, three minutes after the wreck. Then, a bunch of other police showed up."
"I didn't see anything until after the wreck had happened, so I don't think they were responding to anything."
We asked Cayce police for details about the crash, but the department declined comment.
Both cars were towed back to headquarters, where authorities say the South Carolina Highway Patrol is conducting an investigation.
Although Wednesday night's crash surprised Ryan Rucker, he says it wasn't unexpected.
"I've seen a few cop cars fly down here, and definitely the other neighbors. We're really aggravated last night, that something like this happened last year around this time. And they constantly see cops fly down this road, too."
We don't know if speed had anything at all to do with the crash.
According to Lance Corporal Josef Robinson with the South Carolina Highway Patrol, the officers involved were Ernest Darlak, the driver of the marked unit, and Darwin Weaver, driver of the unmarked unit.
Robinson says alcohol was not a factor in the crash, and that both officers were taken to Lexington County Medical Center and released. He added both officers were wearing seatbelts.
Robinson says both were responding to a "service call," however a Cayce police spokesperson would not confirm that information.
We'll post more information as it becomes available.
Source: 2 Cop cars respond to a call = 1 hell of a mess
The crash involved an unmarked cruiser and a marked police car. The unmarked cruiser is said to have ended up in a yard of a house on "K" Avenue.
Most of the information we have from officials right now is that the crash is still under investigation. We went to the scene and talked to some of the first people there Wednesday night.
Witnesses say the wreck sent one Cayce police officer to the hospital, and left two police cruisers with heavy damage.
Ryan Rucker and Allison Keisler heard the crash from Ryan's home next door.
"All of a sudden we heard a big crash, and then we heard a bunch of screaming."
The pair rushed outside to investigate.
"His neighbors were all coming down the street, trying to figure out what was going on, and I tried to stand in the road and take a picture," recalled Allison Keisler. "And the cop was like, 'no ma'am, you can't take a picture.'"
"So, I took a photo there from my yard and sent it to WIS," said Rucker, pointing to the spot.
Ryan and Allison say they noticed right away that neither cruiser had their lights turned on, at first.
"There were no lights on until two, three minutes after the wreck. Then, a bunch of other police showed up."
"I didn't see anything until after the wreck had happened, so I don't think they were responding to anything."
We asked Cayce police for details about the crash, but the department declined comment.
Both cars were towed back to headquarters, where authorities say the South Carolina Highway Patrol is conducting an investigation.
Although Wednesday night's crash surprised Ryan Rucker, he says it wasn't unexpected.
"I've seen a few cop cars fly down here, and definitely the other neighbors. We're really aggravated last night, that something like this happened last year around this time. And they constantly see cops fly down this road, too."
We don't know if speed had anything at all to do with the crash.
According to Lance Corporal Josef Robinson with the South Carolina Highway Patrol, the officers involved were Ernest Darlak, the driver of the marked unit, and Darwin Weaver, driver of the unmarked unit.
Robinson says alcohol was not a factor in the crash, and that both officers were taken to Lexington County Medical Center and released. He added both officers were wearing seatbelts.
Robinson says both were responding to a "service call," however a Cayce police spokesperson would not confirm that information.
We'll post more information as it becomes available.
Source: 2 Cop cars respond to a call = 1 hell of a mess
