Injuring Williamston Police Officer
The man charged in a head-on hit and run accident which injured a Williamston police dispatcher Sunday evening has been arrested and is facing several charges.
Valvatrez Leeshaun Lomax, 23, of Greenville, is charged with driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license, hit and run and simple possession of marijuana.
According to reports, Lomax is a habitual traffic offender and has prior convictions for possession of marijuana, possession of controlled substances, failure to appear in traffic court and driving under a suspended license.
He is being held at the Anderson County Detention Center.
Lomax was arrested about an hour after the 7 p.m. wreck on Sunday on Hwy. 86 at Syracuse Road, Easley.
Williamston Police booking officer/dispatcher and Victim’s Advocate April Stegall is recovering following surgery Monday for injuries she sustained in the wreck.
Stegall was on her way home after finishing her shift at the Williamston Police Department when the 2002 Ford Crown Victoria she was driving was hit head-on by a white 1997 Buick according to Williamston Police spokesman Jesse Harris.
According to reports the Buick failed to stop at the intersection of Syracuse Drive, turning left into the path of oncoming traffic on Hwy. 86.
Stegall told responders that a man had jumped out of the car and run into a wooded area.
She was transported to Greenville Memorial Hospital where she was treated for a broken right arm, fractured left ankle, a broken finger and five broken ribs, Harris said.
Harris said after leaving the scene of the wreck and heading toward the hospital to check on Stegall, he saw a man walking along S. C. Hwy. 8 near the Twelve Oaks subdivision fitting the description of the driver who had left the scene.
After contacting the SC Hwy. Patrol, Harris waited for a trooper to arrive.
“When the Highway Patrol arrived, he tried to run,” Harris said.
Harris and Trooper Pruitt chased and subdued Lomax and then placed him under arrest within a few minutes.
Trooper Pruitt transported Lomax to the Anderson County Detention Center.
During a hearing on Monday, a Anderson judge set bond at $10,000.
