Patient reported Bluffton pediatrician’s conduct hours before DUI charge
Hours before a Beaufort County pediatrician was charged with driving under the influence, one of his patient’s parents told police he appeared to be impaired during their child’s appointment earlier that day.
Just after 9:30 p.m. Friday, Lance Lowe, a pediatrician and founder of Palmetto Pediatrics of the Lowcountry, was booked into the Beaufort County jail after being charged with driving under the influence and for driving with a suspended license, according to jail records. The medical practice has offices in Okatie and Hilton Head.
Lowe had been involved in a minor accident on Highway 170 near Okatie Center Boulevard, according to a spokesperson with the South Carolina Highway Patrol. He bonded out of jail the next day.
Around 5:45 p.m., just a few hours prior, Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the Okatie office after receiving a call from a concerned parent, whose name has been redacted from the report.
According to the report, the parent claimed that while at the office to have their child treated, Lowe seemed “to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.” The report goes on to say that the parent told police that another patient at the practice had a similar issue. The parent who reported the incident did not give the name of the other patient to police, the report said.
By the time deputies arrived, the practice had been closed for the day and the deputies were unable to reach Lowe. Several efforts by police to reach the parent who filed the complaint for additional information were unsuccessful, according to the report.
When asked if police attempted to reach Lowe at another location afterward, Lt. Daniel Allen of the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said “there was nothing else to go off of.” The case was subsequently closed.
Lowe’s medical license was temporarily suspended in early 2015 after a DUI charge in Charleston.
The doctor was arrested on Dec. 13, 2014 after a Charleston officer noticed his pickup truck stopped at a green light, according to previous reporting from The Island Packet. The Charleston officer parked in front of the truck and approached Lowe, who appeared to be sleeping, according to a report cited by the newspaper. After being awoken from a knock on his window, Lowe started to drive, striking the police cruiser.
The South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, which issues and suspends medical licenses, would not confirm whether a new complaint had been filed against Lowe in recent days, according to a spokesperson.
Lowe’s status with Palmetto Pediatrics is unknown. Reached Monday, an office manager at the practice told The Island Packet that it was preparing a statement to release to the public, but a statement was never provided. Multiple follow-up calls to the practice have not been returned.
