Investigation into fatality involving Rock Hill police chief’s wife turned over to Highway Patrol

The investigation of a fatal crash involving a pedestrian near downtown Rock Hill last week was turned over to the S.C. Highway Patrol because the driver is the wife of Rock Hill Police Chief Chris Watts, officials said Tuesday.

The fatality happened Dec. 23 about 7:15 p.m. at the intersection of Dave Lyle Boulevard and White Street, troopers have said.

Jill Watts, 52, was driving west on Dave Lyle Boulevard when Larry Kennedy, 61, walked into the path of the Honda CR-V and was struck, according to an incident report. Kennedy was taken to Piedmont Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Watts and her 21-year-old daughter were wearing seat belts and were not injured, troopers have said.

Rock Hill Police typically investigate crashes that occur in city limits, but this collision was turned over to the Highway Patrol for investigation because the driver is the wife of police Chief Chris Watts, according to Capt. Mark Bollinger, a police spokesman.

“Whenever there’s an accident involving an on-duty police officer, an off-duty police officer or a Rock Hill Police officer’s family members, just for neutrality we have the Highway Patrol investigate it,” Bollinger said. “As soon as our officers found out the chief’s wife was involved, we contacted the Highway Patrol, and it’s their investigation from that point forward.”

Bollinger said Chief Watts would not be available for comment.

“It’s an active investigation,” he said. “We don’t want to make any comments that would hinder the Highway Patrol’s investigation.”

No charges have been filed, and the Highway Patrol’s Multi-disciplinary Accident Investigation Team has taken the lead in the investigation. The intersection was shut down for several hours after the incident while crews worked the scene in the rain.

Team investigations involve taking measurements and photos at the scene, compiling data and running the data through specialized software to reconstruct the crash, which usually takes at least a month, according to Lance Cpl. Gary Miller, a Highway Patrol spokesman.

Miller said troopers put the same care and precision into these investigations that police detectives put into homicide investigations.

“You don’t want to miss anything,” he said. “It takes a lot of time.”

This story was originally published December 30, 2015 at 7:31 AM with the headline "Investigation into fatality involving Rock Hill police chief’s wife turned over to Highway Patrol."