South Carolina trooper accused of altering findings on deadly crash

YORK COUNTY, S.C. — Lori Schofield remembers losing control of her car, and her husband yelling from the backseat.

"He was telling me to just brace for impact, because there was nothing I could do," she said.

Schofield is injured for life.

Her husband Bruce was killed in that same crash that occurred on February 23, 2016.

Schofield hit a pothole on Pole Branch Road. The Highway Patrol estimates that the hole was six inches deep or deeper.

The shoulder of the road was damaged where other drivers had swerved off the road to avoid the same hole.

Schofield was awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in a lawsuit against the South Carolina Department of Transportation, when the investigating trooper cited the pothole as the primary contributing factor in the crash.

She sued, claiming the DOT didn't properly maintain safe roadways.

The DOT settled out of court, but Schofield is still haunted by the incident because the highway patrol changed the original accident report, blaming her instead of the poor condition of the road.

"I don't understand how anybody could do that. We're supposed to trust these people," Schofield told Channel Nine from her York home.

The accident was one she'll never forget.

After hitting the pothole, Schofield’s small Kia sedan jerked into oncoming traffic hitting an SUV nearly head on at about 40 miles per hour.

The engine and dash collapsed onto Schofield and her front seat passenger.

Her husband Bruce was unbuckled in the back seat. He flew into the dash and was severely hurt.

She had to take him off life support nine days later.

Her front seat passenger later had his arm amputated.

Schofield is having her right foot amputated by the end of this month.

Her ankle was shattered and never healed.

(Click PLAY for Schofield's account of her injuries from the crash)

She's in constant pain, but Schofield knows she's lucky to be alive.

"The state troopers that pulled up on the scene, and the police officers, thought that everybody was dead in the car," she said.

She also knows the wreck wasn't her fault.

That's why she was horrified to learn that the original incident report was changed weeks after the crash.

The original investigative trooper cited the pothole as the sole cause of the crash, but that changed.

A final report suddenly accused Schofield of driving too fast for conditions and inattention.

While preparing the lawsuit against the DOT, Schofield’s lawyer, Richards McCrae, found a recorded interview with the trooper who investigated the crash, which was conducted by the Highway Patrol Multi-Disciplinary Accident Investigation Team.

McCrae provided Channel 9 with an audio recording of that interview, and a transcript of what was said.

Part of the recording is transcribed below:

Sgt."has anyone on the South Carolina Highway Patrol or South Carolina Department of Public Safety asked you to change your opinion of what occurred, or asked you to change any facts that you know to be true?

Lance cpl:  "Uh. Ha ha ha. Can you turn that off a minute?'

When the trooper thinks he's not being recorded, he goes on to tell the sergeant that he was asked by a supervisor to change the report to say the driver was at fault in the crash.

He said he wouldn't lie about it if the case ever came to court.

Sgt.:  "In your initial report, you had her not contributing to the collision?

Lance cpl: "Right."

Sgt.: "And who instructed you to fill it out differently?"

Lance cpl: "Now you ain't recording nothing are you?"

The trooper admits his opinion on what caused the deadly crash, never changed.

Lance cpl:  "I don't believe the woman contributed to the accident. I believe it was due to a large pothole."

When McCrae first heard that recording, he said he was stunned.

"I was slack jawed to listen to that statement.  This is the first time I’ve ever come across anything like this," he said.

Schofield couldn't believe it either.

"Somebody is going to answer to this. They're not blaming me for this. I've been through enough," she said.

(Click PLAY to watch Schofield's raw interview about the DOT)

Channel 9 reached out to the highway patrol to ask why the report was changed to blame the driver.

An official response was sent by email. It states that the recorded interview between the two troopers was not conducted properly.

[Read] Official statement from Highway Patrol:

Greg,

It is standard protocol for supervisors to review all reports including collision and incident reports, investigative files, etc. The reports are reviewed by supervisors for content, accuracy and appropriate application of state law. There are at least two levels of approvals by supervisors of different ranks that take place with collision reports prior to the reports being finalized. When supervisors review those reports, there may be instances, such as this one, where they are not in agreement with the trooper's findings. In such cases, the trooper may be instructed to change the report to the finding that the supervisors deem appropriate based on the facts of the case and application of the law. This represents a system of supervisory checks and balances and ensures fairness and accuracy in our investigative conclusions. As it relates to this case, a separate review of the investigation by the SCHP Multi-disciplinary Accident Investigation Team concurred with the troop's determination.

The department is in agreement with the findings of the investigation itself in this case. However, the manner in which the interview was conducted between the highway patrol MAIT member and the trooper was not consistent with MAIT's training. The recording should not have been paused under those circumstances. While the MAIT sergeant who conducted this interview with the trooper has since retired, the Highway Patrol is taking steps to ensure that all MAIT team members are reminded of the proper procedures to follow when recording interviews.

Thank you for giving us an opportunity to respond. Please let us know if you have further questions.

Respectfully,

Sgt. Bob Beres

The pothole on Pole Branch Road had been there more than a month.

The DOT said that there were 23 complaints about potholes on Pole Branch Road in the weeks before the deadly crash.

The pothole that caused the crash was filled in only days after the crash, before MAIT was even able to examine it.

Bruce Schofield, 59,  was a trucker for 30 years, his widow said. He died where he lived.

"He worked on those roads, and those roads are the ones that killed him," she said.

Right now, Schofield's lawyers are exploring options for a lawsuit against the South Carolina Department of Public Safety, over the changing of that trooper's report.

They expect to file within weeks.

Channel 9 will follow any developments in the story.

Cox Media Group