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Joseph Francis Gardner

Age : 72

Gender : Male

Race : Black

Date : 07/03/2022

Location : Highway 81 South, approximately one-half mile south of Iva

City : Iva

County : Anderson

State : South Carolina

Agency : Abbeville County Sheriff's Office; Iva Police Department

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Bystander passenger killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

REASON FOR CHASE: Bystander killed during a pursuit involving the Abbeville County Sheriff's Office and Iva Police Department. Police pursued a 1999 Ford pickup driven by 45-year-old Michael Lee Trotter Sr. of Williamston from Abbeville County into Anderson County. The reason police originally attempted to stop Trotter was not publicly disclosed.
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NARRATIVE:
On 07/03/2022, 72-year-old Joseph Francis Gardner of Iva was critically injured when a 1999 Ford pickup being pursued by law enforcement rear-ended the 1995 Buick in which Gardner was riding on Highway 81 South near Iva.
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The pursuit began in Abbeville County and involved the Abbeville County Sheriff's Office and Iva Police Department. The Ford pickup was driven by 45-year-old Michael Lee Trotter Sr. of Williamston. Authorities did not publicly disclose the reason law enforcement originally attempted to stop Trotter.
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At approximately 10:40 p.m., after the pursuit crossed into Anderson County, Trotter's Ford struck the rear of the northbound Buick carrying Gardner on Highway 81 South, approximately one-half mile south of Iva.
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The impact forced the Buick off the right side of the roadway, where it struck a traffic sign. Gardner, who was a passenger in the Buick, suffered critical injuries and was airlifted to Prisma Health Trauma Services. The 31-year-old driver of the Buick was also injured and transported to a hospital.
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Trotter and a passenger in the Ford pickup were also injured and transported to a hospital.
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Gardner was admitted to intensive care with a traumatic brain injury. He died from his injuries at approximately 4:47 p.m. the following afternoon. The Anderson County Coroner's Office determined that Gardner died from traumatic brain injury due to blunt-force trauma caused by the motor-vehicle collision.
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The South Carolina Highway Patrol and Anderson County Coroner's Office investigated the fatal collision. The available public record does not provide a reliable pursuit speed, distance or duration, and the Abbeville County Sheriff's Office did not publicly disclose the reason for the initial pursuit in the reporting located.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The Abbeville County Sheriff's Office and Iva Police Department did not publicly identify the officers who initiated or participated in the pursuit in the sources located.
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SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.andersoncountysc.org/departments-a-z/coroner/
https://www.foxcarolina.com/2022/07/05/law-enforcement-chase-ends-with-deadly-crash-anderson-co/
https://www.wyff4.com/article/driver-chased-deputies-deadly-crash-south-carolina/40514782
https://www.wyff4.com/article/man-dies-from-injuries-after-car-struck-during-police-chase-in-anderson-county-coroner-says/40504686
https://www.thestate.com/news/state/south-carolina/article263176893.html