BLYTHEWOOD – A Blythewood Middle School teacher has been placed on leave after having been charged in connection with a recent fatal hit and run.
Aja Raevon Adams, 27, of Blythewood, was charged Dec. 14 with four counts, according to court records.
The charges as listed in the Richland County Public Index include:
Hit and run, duties of driver involved in accident with great bodily injury
Hit and run, duties of driver involved in accident with death
Felony driving under the influence, great bodily injury results
Felony driving under the influence, death results
Additional details about the nature of the charges were not available as of press time.
A spokesman with the S.C. Highway Patrol said the charges stem from a fatal collision that occurred before Thanksgiving, but the agency wouldn’t release the responding trooper’s report unless The Voice submitted a Freedom of Information Act request.
Police agencies usually don’t require FOIA requests for police reports. State law doesn’t require FOIA requests for reports for incidents occurring within the past 14 days.
In a recording, Lance Cpl. Tyler Tidwell with the Highway Patrol said the collision occurred Nov. 29 around 10:30 p.m., on Hard Scrabble Road near Clemson Road, about six miles north of Columbia.
According to the recording, a 2016 Honda Accord and a moped carrying two people were both traveling south on Hard Scrabble Road when the Honda struck the moped from behind.
One person died and a second person was taken to Prisma Health-Richland with undisclosed injuries. There was only one occupant in the Honda, Tidwell said.
The recording referred inquiries about the person who died to the Richland County Coroner’s Office. A representative with the coroner’s office couldn’t be reached as of press time.
Richland Two spokeswoman Ish Tate said Adams is a teacher and was hired Aug. 8, 2019.
The Blythewood Middle School website lists Adams as a 7th and 8th grade science teacher. Adams is currently on paid administrative leave per district policies, Tate said.
When a district employees is arrested, “the superintendent or his/her designee to take appropriate employment action with regard to an employee who has been arrested, consistent with state law,” according to the district’s employee handbook.
Employees are required to notify their supervisor within three days of an arrest and also must keep administration updates on the continued status of pending charges, according to the handbook.
Adams’ next court appearance is scheduled for January 27, 2023, according to court records.