Ex-trooper allegedly going 80 in 40-mph zone charged with reckless homicide

A former South Carolina state trooper was charged with reckless homicide Wednesday after the 81-year-old passenger in a car he ran into in July died.

Brandon Norton, 28, was speeding at 80 miles per hour in a 40 mile-per-hour zone when he ran a stop sign and ran into a minivan at Heyward Brockington and Monticello roads in Columbia, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said in a news release announcing the arrest. The intersection is just north of Interstate 20 in the Denny Terrace area north of downtown.

The July 13 accident sent the 77-year-old driver of the minivan and her 81-year-old passenger, Rigba Wolfe, to a hospital. Wolfe died Aug. 18 from injuries sustained in the collision, Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said at the time.

Norton was driving his patrol car, Sheriff’s Department spokesman Curtis Wilson said. While the SCHP says he was on duty at the time of the collision, investigators have not said publicly whether he respondiong to an official call or if his blue light was on.

Norton joined the Highway Patrol July 15, 2016. He resigned Aug. 13, 2017, according to Capt. Kelley Hughes of the patrol.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This story was originally published September 13, 2017 at 3:39 PM with the headline "Ex-trooper allegedly going 80 in 40-mph zone charged with reckless homicide."