Cadet with Lexington Sheriff's Department charged with DUI, wreck left victim with traumatic brain injury

Posted 1/26/23

A probationary cadet with the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department was arrested earlier this month following an off-duty vehicle collision that left a 20-year-old man with a traumatic brain injury.

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Cadet with Lexington Sheriff's Department charged with DUI, wreck left victim with traumatic brain injury

Posted

A probationary cadet with the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department was arrested earlier this month following an off-duty vehicle collision that left a 20-year-old man with a traumatic brain injury.

On Jan. 15, shortly after 9 a.m., Robert Barth Garofalo, 43 of Lexington, “allegedly drove off the road near the intersection of Broad River Road and Foxglove Lane, over-corrected, crossed the double yellow line and collided with the victim’s vehicle,” according to a release from the Columbia Police Department.

“Firefighters with the Columbia-Richland Fire Department had to remove both drivers from their damaged vehicles before EMS transported them to a local hospital,” the release states, noting that the other driver was critically injured.

“The victim continues to receive medical treatment for a traumatic brain injury among other significant wounds affecting his mobility and breathing,” the Jan. 25 release reports. “Garofalo was also injured during the collision.”

Garofalo was charged with felony DUI and taken to the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Columbia following his arrest. According to the jail’s website, he was booked Jan. 25. Columbia Police reported that he was tentatively scheduled for a bond hearing Thursday morning.

Per a release from the sheriff’s department, Garofalo was terminated Jan. 25.

“There is a trust that comes with working in the law enforcement profession,” Sheriff Jay Koon is quoted. “Garofalo broke that trust and we cannot tolerate that.”

Sheriff's Department Public Information Officer Capt. Adam Myrick told the Chronicle that Garofalo was in what is best described as the department's pre-academy training phase.

"We call non-certified personnel cadets as they work and train, on a probationary basis, around our headquarters campus before attending the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy," he said. "That process is at least four weeks, often longer as it depends upon class seat availability at the academy. Garofalo was three weeks into the process but had not yet received a date to report to the academy to begin his certification process."

This is a dveloping story and will continue to be updated.

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