By FITSNews || The S.C. Department of Public Safety (DPS) is standing behind its investigation of a February collision that killed a fifteen-year old South Carolina girl.
The death of Mairi-Caite Miller has taken on renewed public interest after it was revealed that the driver of the SUV which struck and killed her five months ago admitted to taking the powerful opiate Hydrocodone prior to the accident. Subsequently, it was also revealed that the driver, Scott Dutton, had an extensive prior record of moving violations – including multiple citations for speeding and careless or negligent driving.
Dutton was not given a field sobriety test – nor was he charged in the accident, which was blamed on the dark clothing worn by Miller.
In an hour-long interview with FITS earlier this month at DPS headquarters, agency director Mark Keel, Highway Patrol commander Kenny Lancaster and lead DPS investigators walked us through the accident – providing new information and defending their investigation of the collision. The trooper who responded to the accident, however, was not made available to FITS.
Among the key pieces of evidence presented by the department were photos of the accident scene which clearly show Miller wearing dark clothing – which had been the subject of some dispute in the aftermath of the crash. FITS was provided copies of the photos, although we were asked by Keel not to publish or disseminate these photos as they contain graphic content.
Also provided to FITS were audio recordings from a pair of eyewitnesses, who stated that Miller and her friend, Soo-Jin Sung, were walking in the roadway at the time of the collision and that fog and rain had diminished visibility at the time the crash occurred.
Sung, 15, has disputed those contentions, however, claiming that she was walking on the grass next to the road and that Miller was walking next to the curbside. Sung also says it was not raining at the time.
Still, the key issue for us has always been whether or not the Highway Patrol should have administered a field sobriety test to Dutton after he admitted taking Hydrocodone. Keel said that five law enforcement officers were present at the scene of the accident and none detected any sign of impairment on Dutton’s part.
“These officers are trained to recognize impairment,” Keel said.
Asked whether a judge would have accepted Dutton’s admission as probable cause for conducting a test, Keel said “it’s not that simple.”
Dutton was on the phone with a lawyer named “Jack” in the immediate aftermath of the crash. It has been speculated that he was speaking with powerful Columbia, S.C. attorney Jack Swerling, but that has not been confirmed. Dutton offered a grammatically-incomplete, one-sentence statement – “I was driving along and did not (see?) the girl” – prior to his release on the night of the accident. He refused to make any additional comment, and investigators made only one follow-up phone call to him.
After reviewing the dash-cam video of the aftermath of the collision, Keel said “I don’t hear any slurred speech, I hear a man who was upset.”
Keel added that Dutton’s admission to having taken the Hydrocodone would have only intensified the officers’ scrutiny of his movements, speech and behavior.
And that, in a nutshell, is the heart of the DPS argument … the fact that an impaired driver simply would not have been able to avoid the scrutiny of multiple law enforcement officers in the immediate aftermath of a crash – particularly not with a dead teenager lying just a few feet away.
“It just wouldn’t happen,” Keel said.
Miller’s family is still not satisfied with the DPS investigation, however, which Keel said he regrets – but understands. On multiple occasions during our interview, Keel said he “couldn’t imagine” what the Millers were going through in the wake of their daughter’s death, but that he stands by the work of his troopers.
By eggaday July 30, 2010 at 1:56 pm
Keel does not sound like a man who willingly lies… however, he didn’t appear to be truthful about this situation.
Bad for the family, but the government couldn’t care less about families.
You see Families make America strong.
By snodgrass July 30, 2010 at 3:24 pm
You asked law enforcement to put themselves on trial. They returned a verdict of “Not Guilty.”
Imagine that.
By sclawboy July 30, 2010 at 4:07 pm
Eggaday, you need to put the bong down.
I am impressed that Keel and his people would sit down and open up about the case with a blogger of questionable credibility (i.e., “I banged Haley”). It sounds like the photos and videos in large part back up the SCHP investigation.
By the way, Hydrocodone comes in various strengths. Some are basically Extra Strength Tylenol and would have little affect on someone’s impairment. If he didn’t seem impaired on the scene to a well-trained Highway Patrolman, I will accept the trooper’s conclusion over Monday-morning quarterbacking by Miller’s family, FITS, or any of you other black-helicopter-fearing conspiracy theorists every time.
By Crooner July 30, 2010 at 4:16 pm
Cops are always letting people go just because they have lawyers. Sheesh.
By Huhhh??? July 31, 2010 at 9:43 am
This family needs to hire a lawyer and file a wrongful death suit.
Trying to right this perceived wrong in a political blog, particulary one that delves into half-naked-lady pictures as much as it delves into politics, is absurd, pathetic and ridiculous.
By easyforutosay August 2, 2010 at 1:07 pm
Remarks such as sclawboy is easy to speculate and pass judgement when facts are not made completely available.
Hats off to FITS for being the only one who is taking an interest in this tragic event and feeding the truth to all you try to find the good in the wrongs performed.
At the very least! We as SC citizens should be making our voice known to our discontent with policies that allow someone to drive away from an accident resulting in a death after admitting to taking hydrocodone (which by the way states “Do not operate heavy machinery” regardless of dosage). God forbid you find yourself in the shoes of the Miller’s and justice is overlooked or cloaked behind a “so called” veil of justice.
Regarding the Miller’s “Monday morning quarterbacking”…I commend them for their persistance is revealing truth. For FITS efforts…Thank you for your efforts in helping the family. And to everyone else…We need laws/policies changed to ensure equal justice is served (the deceased victims, the living, and the families of those who were lost). If FITS is the only venue to effect said change, then keep fighting and posting your comments. I hope that from this tragedy change is made to prevent others from having to go through it.
Horrific events does not always happen to someone else.
By Greenville Girl August 2, 2010 at 1:22 pm
My sympathies to the Miller family. Dutton reminds me of the infamous John Ludwig from Greenville, SC. Ludwig was going “too fast for conditions” and killed a man who was sitting on his sofa in his home. Ludwig crashed into Fredrick William Bardsley’s home, decapitating him, destroying his home and almost killed Mr. Bardsley’s wife.
Ludwig, known around town as a partier & spousal abuser, had been at a wedding reception and was speeding (allegedly at 80+ mph) when he lost control of his car. There were a “gazillion” SCHP and GCSD officers at the scene, but no sobriety tests were given. Ludwig had strong connections to the legal community and law enforcement hierarchy….Enough said.
Ludwig’s sentence? 5 years, suspended to 3 years probation. He’s since been arrested for 3rd degree assault and battery. Hopefully his probation will be revoked.
While no amount of money will bring Mairi-Caite Miller back, a agree with the person who said there should be a wrongful death suit. Put me on the jury, please.
While I’m not in favor of more laws, SC does need to look at the passing a law which would require blood tests in the event someone kills another person while driving a vehicle. “The Bardsley-Miller Bill: Implied consent and the requirement for (field, urine, hair follicle and blood) sobriety tests in cases of vehicular deaths” would be an acceptable title for the bill.
There would be no costs to the taxpayers. The charges would be included in the ticket fine to the party who killed the other party.
By Lera September 9, 2010 at 11:22 am
Thanks Will–much appreciated. :)
By SubZeroIQ September 19, 2010 at 3:26 pm
Ms. Miller and all Mairi-Caitlin’s family and friends:
You all were on my mind on Thursday and several days last week and several weeks ago.
I hope FITS is in his Mensch phase and lets me post this because I tried to post earlier this week and he did not run it.
So, because the South Carolina Chapter of MADD is in disarray, I decided to form DADD (Doctors Against Drunk Driving). And I decided that my first contribution would be in the sentencing of one Richard Wayne Mason, who is the son of a man who actually got away with murder (by a gunshot wound to the head of his second wife 17 years ago) for DUI first, specially that the trooper who arrested him had told me that Richard claimed to be “a private investigator” and no one can do anything to him.
Well, Richard Wayne Mason’s arrest was in February 2009, and his defense kept continuing the case until September 2010. There and then he claimed to have mailed a Rule 5/Brady motion (which was NEVER filed with any court and NEVER followed up on with a motion to compel discovery) but to have never received a response.
The prosecutor said basically nothing other than that Richard’s lawyer is beautiful; and the case was dismissed.
Now, the Constitution is more important than any one case. And I respect the Double Jeopardy Clause too much to even try O.J. Simpson again. BUT THERE ARE SIMPLE THINGS THAT CAN BE DONE.
We can request a judicial directive that no motion to dismiss in DUI or DUS case can be heard based on lack of discovery unless and until two things happen: (1) the motion is actually filed with the court; and (2) if there is no response to it in 30 days the defendant files a motion to compel.
We can also request that any prosecutor or trooper in the habit of intentionally or negligently throwing DUI cases by failing to respnd to discovery requests be removed, fired, or otherwise disciplined.
Nothing can bring Mairi-Caitlin back; but drunk drivers are equal opportunity killers.
God speed and God bless.
By Brewster May 28, 2011 at 5:54 pm
Jean Toal admitted drinking in one of her two incidents and I think it was alleged she may have been dringing in the second one I am not sure but she was never asked to take a breathalyzer so what did that prove? The only answer is to make it illegal to consume any alcohol or medication that can affect you as such and then drive Zero Tolenece is the only answer but that wont happen.