Criminal Defense Lawyer Near Me Edgefield, SC

TRENTON, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - There was a heavy law enforcement presence at the scene where a home exploded in Trenton on Thursday afternoon.

As the investigation continues, a drone was seen in the sky Friday. Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office, South Carolina Fire Department and Edgefield County EMS were also on the scene.

On Friday morning, the sheriff’s office said the two people who lived in the home are expected to make a full recovery after the explosion.

Both residents were home when the explosion happened, according to witnesses.

And one of those residents’ survival is because of a neighbor who pulled him from the flames and carried him away on his back.

“There was no way I could let him burn,” rescuer Tyrone Williams said.

Neighbors heard the explosion around 4 p.m. on Airport Road in Edgefield County, according to the Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office.

A witness told News 12 it was so loud, she thought her own home had been hit.

PHOTOS FROM THE SCENE:

Although portions of the home were reduced to studs and rubble, some sections of brick cladding were still standing.

At 6 p.m., the flames were gone but smoke was still coming off the house.

Williams told how he rescued his neighbor.

“I heard the big boom, and for a few minutes, I had to wonder whether a plane had crashed,” he said.

He ran outside and saw all the flames, he said.

The resident’s stepson was coming out of the home, so Williams asked if anyone was inside, and the stepson said yes.

“I ran around the back and I seen him standing on the back porch with the flames around him,” Williams said.

“That’s when I told him, ‘Get on my back, George, we’re getting out of here,’” Williams said.

By the time they got to the corner, the home exploded one more time, almost knocking Williams off his feet.

“I still had him on my back,” Williams said.

“And I brought him out, and we set him out there in a chair, and by that time, next five minutes, ambulance and everybody, everybody was coming up,” Williams said.

“And that was it. I was just glad to get George out of there.”

Williams was glad his neighbor made it to the back porch, at least, because he’s not sure he would have been able to get into the burning house.

“That was the farthest he could make it,” Williams said.

“He hadn’t froze, I guess, hadn’t went into a stage of panic himself because he was burned in the face and the hands,” Williams said.

Williams was scared for his own life.

“Matter of fact, I told him, I said, ‘George, we’re fixing to die right here,’” Williams said.

“Good Lord didn’t want it that way, so he got on my back and I brought him out,” Williams said.

Williams said he’s only lived there for five months.

“So I guess when God sent me over here – he knew all this already,” Williams said. “And he knew he brought me over here to save George.”

As darkness fell, the scene was still very active.

In fact, Edgefield County Sheriff Jody Rowland said the agency would be on the scene “for some time.”

Law enforcement officers on the scene reported that the two men in the explosion were both stable Thursday evening.

PHOTO GALLERY:

The home was one of two local ones destroyed by catastrophe Thursday.

In the morning, a home in Monetta burned to the foundation, and

He was too burned to be identified, and an autopsy is scheduled.

TRENTON, SC. (WRDW/WAGT) - Neighbors in the Horse Creek area have organized as an official nonprofit to oppose a 70-lot RV park preliminarily approved by the Edgefield County Planning Commission on Thursday.

The proposed RV park would be located at the corner of Highway 25 and Bream Oak Road in Trenton.

Plans for the park were originally denied at the June 12 planning commission meeting, but were approved Thursday after developers were given 90 days to return with revisions.

Randy Dedrickson, president of the newly formed Horse Creek Nature Preserve nonprofit, said the approval came despite neighbors making the case for ordinances the project would violate.

“This is not just one neighbor. This is the entire neighborhood of seven neighborhoods and 122 homes,” Dedrickson said.

The Savannah Riverkeeper has joined neighbors in expressing concerns about potential environmental impacts from the development.

Tonya Bonitatibus with the Savannah Riverkeeper said contamination from the RV park could create a chain reaction affecting local waterways.

“Any contamination that gets there comes down to here, comes down to the next pond, goes down to the next pond, the next pond, the next pond, all the way straight directly into the Savannah River,” Bonitatibus said.

Dedrickson, who keeps geese, ducks, and other animals on his Bream Oak Road property, called the project “an ecological disaster.”

“They have RVs going in and out of here onto 25. This is an absolute disaster to wait. This is an ecological disaster,” he said.

Other neighbors expressed concerns about RV traffic on Bream Oak Road, which is only 19 feet wide.

Jason Kulp, a neighbor, pointed to safety issues with the new traffic patterns.

“We have a hairpin 90-degree curve below the proposed site, and Highway 25 has got a blind hill. It’s just the risk factor of that much more traffic coming through,” Kulp said.

Tom McCain, who built his house from scratch 20 years ago, said he’s worried about how the development would affect the area over time.

“I worked over six years, but finally got it finished, and now I have five children, and I’d like to leave my investment to my children,” McCain said. “I don’t want it destroyed by what could possibly happen from this RV park.”

Dedrickson said the property represents his retirement investment.

“This is our retirement home. This is where we’re going to die. So all of our money we saved is right here. And this is at high risk,” he said.

The developer, Blackston Custom Homes, said in a statement: “We are pleased with the decision of the Planning Commission and will work with county staff to ensure that the development meets or exceeds all applicable requirements.”

Dedrickson said neighbors remain united in their opposition.

“We are all united here to make sure that the proper thing is done to protect our environment,” he said.

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - A newly released report is shedding light on the arrest of an Edgefield County bus driver suspected of driving under the influence.

Meanwhile, the Edgefield County School District announced Friday that she’d been fired.

Janice Waldorf, 62, was bringing Merriweather Elementary second-graders back from a field trip on Sept. 25 when law enforcement officers pulled her over at Interstate 20 and Edgefield Road to perform a sobriety test.

The report released Thursday by the South Carolina Department of Public Safety showed she wasn’t found to be under the influence of alcohol.

Instead, the substance was a depressant, said authorities, who wrote that she had 17 bottles of prescription medications with her despite telling officers she wasn’t taking any.

She did tell them she suffered “trigger finger and carpal tunnel” and was drowsy when she was pulled over.

Authorities performed a field sobriety test and later conducted other tests, finding that she had a 0.00% blood alcohol level.

However, an evaluation determined she was under the influence of central nervous system depressants, according to the report.

In fact, she was found with six bottles of prescription medication that was out of date and 11 more bottles of prescription medication that was in date, according to the report.

Jail records show Waldorf was charged with driving under the influence, less than 0.10%, first offense; and child endangerment.

MORE DETAILS: READ THE FULL REPORT

Waldorf, a school bus driver with the school district since July 2023, was placed on administrative leave pending the completion of an investigation.

The school district announced Friday that based on its investigation and law enforcement reports, “the school district separated from the employee via termination earlier today.”

The district said it remains grateful to parent and teacher chaperones whose quick actions on Sept. 25 brought the incident to a safe conclusion without injury.

Aiken County jail records on Friday didn’t show Waldorf as a current inmate.