Post by KC on Jun 7, 2006 20:34:35 GMT -5
June 07, 2006 - ORANGEBURG, S.C. - A former Santee police officer was sentenced to seven years in prison, suspended to three years probation, after pleading guilty to reckless homicide in a 2002 accident that killed a Bowman man.
John Donald "Donnie" Stroman, 61, was killed in the accident at the junction of Interstate 26 and state highway 210.
The officer, Brian Keith Brown, was sentenced after Stroman's wife Nancy, who was injured in the accident, said she forgave Brown.
Brown could have received 10 years in prison on the felony charge. He will lose his driving privileges for five years, said Mark Plowden, a spokesman for the state Attorney General's Office.
State officials suspended Brown's police powers soon after The (Charleston) Post and Courier reported his story in March of last year.
The state Criminal Justice Academy, which oversees officer certification, knew nothing about the crash until the newspaper asked about the case.
Brown had since gone on to work as a police officer in Bonneau but the state suspended his certification last year.
Academy Director William Neill said he will permanently revoke Brown's police powers in South Carolina when he receives formal notification of the guilty plea.
The accident occurred on Oct. 31, 2002, when the Santee police chief had sent Brown to give an informant a ride to his home in Branchville, about 25 miles away.
On the way back, he was driving between 75 and 79 mph on state Route 210 at the Interstate 26 overpass where the accident occurred, authorities said. Brown was not in pursuit of another vehicle and neither his emergency lights nor siren were on, according to court records.
The posted speed limit was 40 mph.
John Donald "Donnie" Stroman, 61, was killed in the accident at the junction of Interstate 26 and state highway 210.
The officer, Brian Keith Brown, was sentenced after Stroman's wife Nancy, who was injured in the accident, said she forgave Brown.
Brown could have received 10 years in prison on the felony charge. He will lose his driving privileges for five years, said Mark Plowden, a spokesman for the state Attorney General's Office.
State officials suspended Brown's police powers soon after The (Charleston) Post and Courier reported his story in March of last year.
The state Criminal Justice Academy, which oversees officer certification, knew nothing about the crash until the newspaper asked about the case.
Brown had since gone on to work as a police officer in Bonneau but the state suspended his certification last year.
Academy Director William Neill said he will permanently revoke Brown's police powers in South Carolina when he receives formal notification of the guilty plea.
The accident occurred on Oct. 31, 2002, when the Santee police chief had sent Brown to give an informant a ride to his home in Branchville, about 25 miles away.
On the way back, he was driving between 75 and 79 mph on state Route 210 at the Interstate 26 overpass where the accident occurred, authorities said. Brown was not in pursuit of another vehicle and neither his emergency lights nor siren were on, according to court records.
The posted speed limit was 40 mph.