Police report reveals new details in crash that broke Clemson football kicker’s leg
Last month, a Clemson football player was riding his electric scooter on campus and waited for all other vehicles to safely exit a four-way intersection near Memorial Stadium before proceeding.
But another Clemson student, who was eventually cited for disregarding a stop sign, said he “did not see” Tigers backup kicker Quinn Castner as he was entering the intersection and hit Castner with his truck, reportedly breaking Castner’s leg.
That’s according to a police report obtained by The State via public records request, which revealed new details surrounding the Oct. 17 incident.
The website TigerNet.com first reported on Castner’s accident, which occurred two days before Clemson’s Oct. 19 home game vs. Virginia last month. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said following that game Castner, a fifth-year senior who walked onto the team in 2020, was “doing good” two days removed from the crash.
TigerNet reported that Castner had suffered a compound fracture (a break or crack in a bone that’s visible through the skin) in his lower right leg the morning of Oct. 17, undergone successful surgery to repair it and was “resting comfortably” that night.
“Very, very fortunate that it wasn’t worse,” Swinney said Oct. 19.
Police report details incident
According to a Clemson University Police Department incident report obtained by The State, an officer responded to a report of a motor vehicle accident with injuries at the intersection of Williamson Road and South Palmetto Boulevard on campus on the morning of Oct. 17.
That four-way intersection is roughly a block from Clemson’s football stadium and runs parallel to the university’s Woodland Cemetery.
Upon arriving at 9:26 a.m., CUPD officer Dawson Cress wrote that Castner, 22, was “laying in the middle of the intersection on his back” while a male individual was “applying pressure to Castner’s right leg with what appeared to be a bandage.”
Castner was “coherent,” the report said, and was able to answer the officer’s questions about the incident. Castner said he had been riding his e-scooter on campus, approached the stop sign at the intersection and entered the intersection “after other vehicles safely exited.”
Castner said he made it into the intersection before “a truck hit him off of his scooter,” according to the report.
The driver of the truck, who did not flee the scene and stayed behind to help Castner after the incident, was also identified as a Clemson student.
The driver, whose name was redacted in the incident report, “stated that he did not see Castner as he was entering into the intersection and he hit him with the front of his truck,” per the report.
CUPD said that Castner was transported to nearby Oconee Memorial Hospital for his injuries sustained during the collision. The male Clemson student driving the truck was not arrested but was issued a citation for disregarding a stop sign before being “released from the scene” by the officer.
According to the incident report, CUPD later obtained video footage of the incident, which confirmed that the driver of the truck had “disregarded a stop sign and struck Castner.” The incident was marked as “administratively closed” later that afternoon.
The incident report redacted a section detailing Castner’s specific injuries.
Quinn Castner’s Clemson career
Castner originally joined Clemson as a walk-on in 2020 after lettering in football at Nation Ford High School in Fort Mill, South Carolina. He was 13-14 on field goals and 35-35 on extra points as a high school senior.
The 2024 season is Castner’s fifth with the Clemson program. He had appeared in two games to date, recording a touchback on his first career kickoff as a true freshman in 2020 against The Citadel and converting his first career extra point attempt vs. Charleston Southern last year.
Castner is also a two-time ACC Honor Roll selection at Clemson and earned a bioengineering degree from the university in May 2024.
Swinney said Oct. 19 that the accident was “disappointing” because Castner suffered a season-ending injury and wouldn’t have the chance to suit up for the football team again. But he said the veteran kicker was “lucky” the accident wasn’t any worse.
Castner had not appeared in a game in 2024 and, along with fellow walk-on Hogan Morton, was considered a deep reserve option behind starting placekicker Nolan Hauser and top backup Robert Gunn III (both of whom are on scholarship).
“He’ll still be part of our team and just thankful he’s going to be OK,” Swinney said of Castner. “You know, broken bones will heal up. But very, very fortunate that it wasn’t worse. So I’m happy that he’s going to be OK, and I know the team, everybody’s reached out to him to wish him well.”
This story was originally published November 13, 2024 at 7:30 AM.
