FCSO launches Data Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety for July 2015

FCSO.org

Florence County Sheriff's Office Announces DDACTS Locations:

The Florence County Sheriff’s Office has designated the following DDACTS “hot spot” areas of Florence County for high visibility traffic enforcement for the next month (July 2015).

• Brittany Drive, Willow Trace and Via Ponticello;

• South Cashua Drive, South Santiago Drive, Hyde Circle, South Parker Drive and Ridgecrest Circle;

• South Canal Drive, Allison Street, Dawn Street, Yancy Drive and Brenda Street;

• Howe Springs Road area, Tara Village and Southern Pines;

• West Camp Branch road, McAllister Road, and Trifalia Road.

These areas were selected as “hot spots” based upon location-based crime and traffic crash data. Residents and motorists in these areas can expect to see high visibility enforcement of traffic laws for the next several weeks with both marked and unmarked units running rear blue lights even when not on a traffic stop. In addition, routine citizen encounters in these areas will be increased.

DDACTS, or Data Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety is a U.S. Department of Justice approved operational enforcement model launched by FCSO in June of 2014 which uses GIS mapping of crime and crash data to establish effective and efficient methods for deploying law enforcement resources. 

This model recognizes the clear correlation between vehicle crashes and incidents of crime and seeks to reduce both in the targeted areas with high visibility enforcement of traffic laws. 

FCSO is the first sheriff’s office in South Carolina to adopt DDACTS as an enforcement model.

Sheriff Kenney Boone

Fiery crash claims the lives of a young family, March 21, 2015

  Crystal Cross, Jeremiah Joseph Cross, and 7 month old Grayson Cross, months, of Ontario, Canada.

FLORENCE, S.C. – March 21, 2015
Five people lost their lives in a fiery multi-vehicle crash Saturday night on Interstate 95 in Florence County. The crash occurred in the northbound lanes of I-95 just before the 170 mile marker at the exit for S.C. 327, at around 7:30 p.m., according to Cpl. Sonny Collins with the SCHP.

Two tractor-trailer commercial vehicles were among the five involved. At least one car, mostly burned, was pinned beneath one of the tractor-trailers. Another car sat, fully burned, close by. A second tractor-trailer, slightly further up the highway, also sustained damage and possibly collided with a fourth consumer vehicle, a pickup truck.

Vahid Hamzehnava was in a vehicle not far behind where the accident happened. He said "I tried to slow down with the flow of traffic and all of a sudden it just happened, right before my eyes", he said "I saw the truck driver get out" he thought the truck was going to explode, so he ran down the highway. And then after a couple of seconds they said, ‘move the car, move the car.’ Everybody started backing up. And then the whole truck got on fire." He and another witness tried running toward the accident to assist trapped passengers. "We tried," he said. "There was nothing we could do."

Law enforcement and first responders began diverting all northbound traffic at mile marker 169 after the collision. The accident caused all northbound lanes of I-95 to be blocked off for nearly 12 hours. With normal traffic flow returning early Sunday morning, according to the SCDOT.

That total dead was confirmed Sunday morning to be five souls in a release issued by Florence County Coroner, Keith Von Lutcken. Autopsies will be conducted on all of the victims at MUSC. One of the fatalities was a baby, according to a witness on the scene.

Sunday, March 22, 2015, Coroner, Keith Von Lutcken identified the victims as Barry Himes, 52, and Jacqueline Ann McCann, 51, of Johnstown, PA. The coroner says they were in the 2011 Jeep Cherokee.

The victims in the 2008 Honda are identified as a young family. Jeremiah Joseph Cross, 34, Crystal Cross, 32, and Grayson Cross, 7 months, of Ontario, Canada.

The incident is under investigation by the S.C. Highway Patrol and the Florence County Coroner's Office. The South Carolina Highway Patrol has not released the details of the crash.

follow up article:
http://www.intelligencer.ca/2015/03/23/trenton-family-among-those-killed-in-i-95-crash-in-south-carolina

Canadian Soldier  Pte. Jeremiah Cross of Ontario

March 21, 2015 Accident- PHOTO CREDIT- WBTW

March 21, 2015 Accident- PHOTO CREDIT- WBTW-TV