Master Trooper Wayne H. LaBounty was struck by a vehicle while performing a traffic stop near Augusta Road and Lost Branch Road in Lexington County on Tuesday, Sept. 9.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday night, the South Carolina Department of Public Safety and the South Carolina Highway Patrol said LaBounty has undergone successful surgery and is in stable condition.

WIS reported that on Sept. 11, Jerrod Ricks, 23, was arrested and charged with reckless driving and issued a citation for endangering emergency service personnel. He is also accused of hitting LaBounty. 

Ricks was booked into the Lexington County Detention Center, but was shortly released on a $440 bond. 

Following the incident on Tuesday, LaBounty was airlifted to a Prisma Health hospital and is in serious condition.

A Lexington County Sheriff’s Department vehicle was damaged in the same collision, but the sheriff’s department said the deputy with that vehicle was not injured, while LaBounty with the highway patrol was.

The incident occurred around 7 a.m., not long after LaBounty pulled over a vehicle, according to a release. The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department deputy slowed down to check on the trooper while the traffic stop was happening. At that time, a vehicle in the same lane as the deputy hit the deputy's vehicle, according to the Richland County Sheriff's Department.

After that, LaBounty was hit by the car that had hit the deputy's vehicle. Before hitting LaBounty, the vehicle that LaBounty was performing a traffic stop with was also hit, as well as another vehicle. 

LaBounty is a longtime veteran of 40 years, and has served in Troops 1, 2, 3 and 7. He was named Trooper of the Year in 2019 for Troop 1, Post C., according to documents from the South Carolina Department of Public Safety.

This is the third S.C. Highway Patrol trooper who was hit on the side of the road in the last month. 

Trooper First Class Dennis D. Ricks died from his injuries on Aug. 13. Ricks was struck by a vehicle while performing a traffic stop in Orangeburg County four days earlier.

The South Carolina Department of Transportation reported Ricks is the 52nd Highway Patrol trooper to be killed while serving the state of South Carolina. 

Senior Trooper Mitchell Williams Jr. was struck by a vehicle on Sunday, Sept. 7, and is recovering from his injuries at home. The Department of Public Safety said Williams was assisting another trooper with a traffic stop on Interstate 77  near the 9-mile marker when a vehicle ran into the median and hit him with the side mirror. 

State leaders urge the public to “slow down, move over for blue lights, and never drive impaired."

The Richland County Sheriff’s Department is handling questions regarding the investigation into because the Lexington County Sheriff's Department was involved. 

“We ask that everyone keeps [LaBounty] in your prayers as he continues to recover,” Department of Public Safety officials said in a statement.