By Rachel Johnson
Aiken Standard
AUGUSTA, S.C. — An Augusta man is in custody after hitting an officer with his vehicle and fleeing a traffic checkpoint early Saturday morning.
Demarius Lamar Smith, 21, of Augusta was arrested on Saturday afternoon at the Deluxe Inn on Martintown Road in North Augusta by law enforcement and is accused of hitting Williston Chief of Police Roger Kaney shortly before 1 a.m.
Smith has been charged with two counts of assault and battery with intent to kill, and additional charges may follow.
Kaney was one of many officers working a Law Enforcement Network Traffic Safety Checkpoint on Martintown Road at the intersection of U.S. Highway 1 in North Augusta late Friday and early Saturday.
According to a report issued by North Augusta Public Safety, a silver 2002 Ford Explorer exited Highway 1 and approached the checkpoint. The driver, unidentified at that time, disregarded the officers’ instructions to stop.
He drove directly through the area where officers were located before making an abrupt U-turn and driving directly at officers.
Officers pulled their weapons and fired at the vehicle, striking it several times. The vehicle hit Kaney before fleeing the scene in the direction of Georgia.
EMS was called to the scene, and Kaney was transported to Aiken Regional Medical Centers for treatment of minor injuries where he was treated and released.
The suspect eluded law enforcement and escaped into Georgia. Upon investigation into the vehicle, it was discovered as reported stolen to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.
It was later discovered that the suspect had contacted the vehicle owner, telling him to report it stolen, while the suspect ditched the vehicle in the Augusta area.
Richmond County investigators interrogated the vehicle owner, who admitted to the suspect’s call, told police where his SUV was located and confessed to filing a false report.
Copyright 2009 Aiken Standard