North Augusta woman won't face charges in fatal crash 11/17/2009 8:32 PM By KAREN DAILY Staff writer
North Augusta police will not charge a North Augusta woman with the fatal wreck that claimed the life of a 72-year-old man who was tending to his garden the afternoon of Nov. 8 when he stepped out into the roadway and into the path of an oncoming vehicle, officials said.
William Adams, of Seymour Drive, died from those injuries.
The driver of the vehicle, a 2002 Ford Taurus, has been identified as Chatrice Evans, also of Seymour Drive in North Augusta.
Police said they have thoroughly investigated the matter and concluded that there is no evidence of any criminal wrongdoing.
"We discovered through video from a patrol car that there was a glare from the sun as she approached him," said Lt. Tim Pearson, a spokesperson for North Augusta Public Safety.
The fatal crash occurred about 2:30 p.m. on Seymour Drive in North Augusta.
Witnesses said they saw the vehicle strike the man while he was standing alongside the roadway. Investigators have since said that Adams had stepped into the roadway.
The driver continued south after the impact, but when she stopped nearby to check the damage to her vehicle, she reportedly found a piece of denim in her front passenger-side headlight and returned to the crash site. Adams was taken to the Medical College of Georgia's Shock/Trauma Unit, where he was pronounced dead.
"This was a tragic accident for Adams and his family," Pearson said.
Police have not found excessive speed to be a factor.
The driver has been cleared of any wrongdoing.
"She cooperated with us throughout the investigation, allowing us to review her phone records," Pearson said.
She was not talking on her cell phone or text messaging at that time, he said.
Contact Karen Daily at kdaily@aikenstandard.com.
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Posted by: Feed Up On: Thursday, November 19, 2009 6:21 PM
Comment Title: WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!1
I guess they had to rule this..... about a year ago a NAPS officer traveling to Columbia SMASHED into the back of another vehicle on I-20, causing 4 people to be taken to the ER. Before the Highway Patrol could do they're thing Tim Pearson scrambled to the scene to prep his "boy". They sighted "the sun was in his eyes". Next time you get mad at the driver in front of you.....ram'em! Just tell the dumb cop the sun was your eyes!
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Posted by: On: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 4:13 PM
Comment Title: com'on man!
when someone hits another car or anything for no appearent reason police use the term driving to fast for conditions and issue a ticket at the least...... she took a life! willingly or not, a human is dead because her vision was impaired by conditions. wow! this will set a new standard for lawyers all over the place." yur honur thee sun was in mine eyes!" i can hear it now.. hope the greeving family can get restitution at the least, as a civil case for wrongful death. actions do have consequences, driving is a privlage not a right!!
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Posted by: On: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 12:55 PM
Comment Title:
Anytime a "glare" of sunlight interferes with my vision while driving, I slow WAY down. If you can't see where you are driving, how do you know it's safe? You don't just continue driving blindly. This is ridiculous. A man's life should not be lost because of a reckless driver. Once she felt her car hit something (earlier story said she thought she hit a trash can), she should have stopped RIGHT THEN. At least she returned to her crime scene.
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Posted by: Truth Slayer On: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 8:40 AM
Comment Title: SAD
This is really sad all the way around.
The driver will never be the same, nor will the side that lost a loved one.
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