Fatal wreck ties up traffic

A Columbia man faces several charges, including felony driving under the influence, after a chain-reaction traffic accident early Sunday that killed one person.

The accident happened on Interstate 77 near Cayce shortly before 4 a.m. Sunday, said a spokesman for the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.

The collision involved several vehicles, including a South Carolina Highway Patrol car. Four people also were injured.

Department spokesman Capt. John Allard said warrants charging 38-year-old Frank E. Milton Jr. of Columbia would be served once he is out of the hospital.

Sheriff James R. Metts said Milton’s SUV hit a South Carolina Highway Patrol cruiser, which forced a disabled Honda station wagon into a tow truck. He said 36-year-old Kevin Butler of West Columbia was preparing to load the station wagon when he was struck. Butler died at the scene.

The driver of the station wagon, 48-year-old Walter Moultrie III of Hanahan, was listed in serious condition Sunday night.

The collision caused traffic delays on southbound lanes on I-77 until about noon Sunday, Metts said.

Allard didn’t know whether Milton had an attorney.

The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department still is investigating, Metts said. Under Department of Public Safety policy, the sheriff’s department investigates collisions that involve DPS vehicles in the county.

It was the second fatal felony DUI charge in the Columbia area in recent weeks.

On Nov. 21, Joseph McCarty, 26, was killed when his motorcycle was rammed from behind on Pickens Street in Columbia by a SUV.

Austin Tyler Deese, 21, a student at the University of South Carolina, was charged with felony DUI in that incident.

This story was originally published December 6, 2009 at 4:38 PM with the headline "Fatal wreck ties up traffic."