Teen utility worker killed in hit-and-run crash, South Carolina coroner says
A teenager utility worker was killed Friday when he and another pedestrian were involved with a hit-and-run crash, according to South Carolina officials.
Billy H. Norris, a 19-year-old Chesnee resident, is the man who died in the wreck, the Aiken County Coroner’s Office said.
At about 5:30 a.m., the Aiken Department of Public Safety said officers responded to the hit-and-run collision involving two pedestrians at the intersection of Rutland Drive and U.S. 1/Northland Boulevard. The vehicle that struck the utility workers was driving west on Rutland Drive, according to the department of public safety.
Norris and the other utility worker were hit while in a work zone, and the teen — who suffered blunt force trauma — died at the scene, according to the coroner’s office.
The other utility worker suffered significant injuries and was taken by EMS to WellStar MCG Health hospital in Augusta, Georgia, officials said. Further information on the surviving utility worker’s condition was not available.
Responding officers searched for evidence and tracked down surveillance footage from surrounding businesses, the department of public safety said.
Later Friday, Charles Blase Engasser surrendered to the department of public safety and was booked into the Aiken County Detention Center, according to officials. The 39-year-old Aiken resident was charged with hit-and-run (with great bodily injury) and hit-and-run (with death), jail records show.
No bond has been set and Engasser remains locked up, according to jail records.
Despite the arrest, both the department of public safety and coroner’s office continue to investigate the deadly crash. An autopsy is scheduled for next week in Newberry, the coroner’s office said.
“Additional charges may follow as the investigation continues to unfold,” the department of public safety said in a news release.
Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact Aiken public safety at 803-642-7620, CrimeAlerts@cityofaikensc.gov or cityofaikensc.gov/offices/public safety/crime-tip.
This is not the first time Engasser has been charged with a traffic violation.
In 2009, he was charged with DUI, later pleading guilty to the crime in 2010, Aiken County court records show. He’s also previously been found guilty of speeding and driving too fast for conditions, according to court records.
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