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By Mark Washburn
The Charlotte Observer
LANCASTER, S.C. — A retired Lancaster, S.C., police officer is recovering from head wounds after he was shot by a man running from a car accident.
Detectives believe Ray Knight unknowingly stumbled upon the suspects from an earlier robbery.
A 17-year veteran of the Lancaster Police Department, Knight was walking with his granddaughter Friday when he saw an overturned car on Old Lynwood Circle. He called police and was giving a description of a man running from the car when he was shot in the face.
Authorities Monday released a recording of the 911 call Knight made to report the accident.
No one appeared to be in the car, Knight told the dispatcher, but a young man was running from the vehicle.
As Knight described the man, several shots could be heard in the background.
“Oh my God! A man’s been shot,” the dispatcher said, apparently speaking to other dispatchers in the 911 call center.
Lancaster County sheriff’s deputies later arrested Charles Walker Raffaldt, Jr., 23, and Stephanie Denise Myers, 21.
They are being held without bond in the Lancaster County Jail. Authorities believe they were speeding from a robbery nearby when the car went out of control and crashed.
Doctors removed a bullet from Knight’s left cheek bone, Hinson said, and are attempting to save his left eye. His right eye suffered irreparable damage in the shooting.
It’s possible the retired officer may never see again, but Hinson said he is grateful his father-in-law is still alive.
“God has reasons,” he said. “We’ll find out why.”
Copyright 2008 The Charlotte Observer