Activists speak out after deputy charged in deadly Mother’s Day accident

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Activists in the Lowcountry are speaking out after a Charleston County deputy is facing charges after a deadly crash killed three people on Mother’s Day.

Sources tell News 2 Charleston County Deputy Emily Pelletier will turn herself in on Friday at the Al Cannon Detention Center. She is charged with three counts of reckless homicide.

The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) says so far, there is no change in Deputy Pelletier’s employment status. They also released new dashcam footage, shedding more light on what happened the night of a fatal crash. Meanwhile, family, friends and the community are still trying to process the grief.

“It’s been tears, anger and it has been a lot of trauma. I can definitely say that,” says Justin Hunt, the President of Stand As One.

CCSO officials say Pelletier ran a stop sign in her patrol car, hitting the car carrying Stephanie Dantzler and her two daughters, Shanice and Miranda Dantzler-Williams. All three died at the scene.

The dash camera video released by the sheriff’s office shows video of the rear camera from Pelletier’s patrol car after the crash. According to the South Carolina Highway Patrol (SCHP), Pelletier was going 73 miles per hour when she hit the family’s car when the speed limit of the road she was traveling on is 40 miles per hour.

Two weeks went by and few updates were provided. Activists say they’ve anxiously been awaiting new information.

“Initially we went out to the scene the day after and we started putting pieces together. We sent a FOIA for the dash camera footage and immediately things weren’t adding up,” says Hunt.

Hunt says he’s glad action is finally being taken towards justice.

“I think the biggest scare to the community, the activists, and the family was that this is going to be swept under the rug. I think the family got some joy yesterday to see some kind of changes happen,” he says.

While Pelletier awaits a bond hearing in the upcoming days, Hunt says it’s important the sheriff’s office shows transparency to the community so incidents like this never happen again.

“We know that we will have to keep full attention on this to hold this officer accountable. I think holding officers accountable prevents issues like this so then they know they have someone to answer to, not a boss that is going to show them favoritism,” he says.

Sources tell News 2 that Pelletier is out of state with family at the moment. Attorneys representing the victim’s family say the bond hearing is set for Friday at 2 p.m. and there will be a press conference right after.