North Augusta woman won't face charges in fatal crash

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.