Sheriff’s deputy charged with reckless homicide following crash investigation: SCHP

A now-fired Charleston County Sheriff’s Office deputy has been charged with reckless homicide following an investigation into a fatal crash in Charleston involving the deputy, according to South Carolina Highway Patrol.

The Sheriff’s office announced Tuesday it has fired Deputy Jason Barry “at the conclusion of an internal investigation,” and that he “was found in violation of department policies.”

Barry had been with the department since September 2019.

Barry was driving northbound on Old Towne Road at around 6 a.m. on May 21 when he crashed into an SUV trying to turn left onto N. Hillside Drive, the SCHP said Tuesday.

Authorities declined to say if Barry was on duty at the time of the crash.

The civilian driver suffered “serious injuries,” according to a Sheriff’s Office release from the day of the incident. The individual died the next day at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Barry’s injuries were non-life threatening.

He was arrested Tuesday, booked into the Al Cannon Detention Center in North Charleston and is awaiting a bond hearing, the SCHP said.

Reckless vehicular homicide relates to instances where one or more deaths are caused by the “driving of a vehicle in reckless disregard of the safety of others.”

This story was originally published June 23, 2020 at 6:30 PM with the headline "Sheriff’s deputy charged with reckless homicide following crash investigation: SCHP."