By MES Dispatch staff
The Briefing
• A Greenwood, South Carolina police officer was killed Monday after his cruiser was struck head-on by a vehicle fleeing a traffic stop, officials said.
• The driver, a 15-year-old, and two passengers were taken to a hospital following the collision.
• The officer was identified as 31-year-old Don “DJ” Keller, a K-9 handler with the Greenwood Police Department.
• The South Carolina Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.
• Keller’s K-9 partner, Vice, was in the cruiser and was not seriously injured.
GREENWOOD, S.C. — A Greenwood Police Department officer died Monday after a vehicle fleeing a traffic stop crossed into oncoming traffic and struck his patrol vehicle head-on, authorities said.
The driver of the vehicle, identified as a 15-year-old male, was attempting to evade law enforcement when the collision occurred near the intersection of East Cambridge Avenue and Ames Street South, Greenwood Police Chief T.J. Chaudoin said at a news conference.
Officer Don “DJ” Keller, 31, was pronounced dead at the scene. Keller, a K-9 handler who joined the department in 2023 and previously served in the U.S. Army and South Carolina National Guard, is survived by his wife and 2-year-old daughter.
Two passengers in the vehicle — ages 17 and 18 — were also transported to a hospital for treatment, officials said. The condition of the driver and the second passenger has not been released, and one passenger was later taken into custody.
The South Carolina Highway Patrol is leading the investigation into the crash, and no charges have yet been announced.