Beaufort Co. man sentenced in crash that injured 2-year-old daughter. It was his 2nd DUI
A Burton man was sentenced to 30 days in jail last week after pleading guilty to driving under the influence in a crash that injured his 2-year-old daughter, officials said.
Vernon Evans Jr., 27, who faces three years of probation following his jail sentence, reached a plea agreement with the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, court records show. He was sentenced on Dec. 10.
This marks Evans’ second guilty plea to DUI in the past five years. In 2015, he was sentenced to 30 days in jail as well, records show.
About 8 p.m. on May 2, 2019, Evans, in a 2012 Ford Fusion, was driving with his daughter on Joe Frazier Road near Roundabout Loop when he rear-ended a 2014 Chevrolet pickup truck, according to S.C. Highway Patrol.
The girl was seriously injured and was taken to a hospital, an SCHP official said at the time.
Months later, the girl’s mother filed a request in civil court for Evans to cover costs their daughter incurred, filings show.
A judge granted $25,000 to the child and her mother to cover medical bills and attorney fees.
The judge noted that Evans’ insurance company agreed to the terms, despite Evans denying that any “injuries suffered by [his daughter] were the result of any negligence or recklessness on [his] part,” according to the documents.
From four charges to two convictions
S.C. Highway Patrol originally charged Evans with one count of felony DUI resulting in great bodily injury, one count of child endangerment, one count of driving under suspension, and one count of being a habitual traffic offender.
Evans pleaded guilty to two of the four. Here’s what happened:
- The DUI charge was downgraded to a lesser, 2nd offense DUI charge. That is because prosecutors couldn’t prove there was great bodily injury, according to Solicitor’s spokesperson Jeff Kidd. The difference between the two charges is the label of felony and the ability to sentence to more prison time. Evans’ guilty plea to 2nd offense DUI means 30 days in jail and three years of probation.
- The child endangerment charge was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
- Driving under suspension was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
- Evans pleaded guilty to driving under suspension as a habitual traffic offender. A judge sentenced him to three years of probation along with substance abuse counseling and random drug testing, records show.
The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette in March 2020 reviewed more than 2,000 DUI arrests from state and local law enforcement agencies in Beaufort County from 2017 to 2019. The investigation revealed that very few DUI arrests lead to convictions, and repeat offenders are often let off with lesser charges or no charges at all.
The newspapers reported that South Carolina’s overly complex DUI laws allow for several loopholes, which DUI lawyers take advantage of to get their clients’ charges reduced or dropped.
This story was originally published December 15, 2020 at 4:30 AM.
