C of C officer dies in crash

Robert Christopher Barnett had been a C of C public safety officer for 13 months.

An off-duty College of Charleston public safety officer died Tuesday morning in a head-on collision with a tractor-trailer on U.S. Highway 17 in Colleton County, near the ACE Basin.

Officer Robert Christopher Barnett, 22, was driving south at 10:30 a.m. when his 2004 Acura crossed the center line and collided with a northbound Peterbilt tractor-trailer, said Sid Gaulden, press officer for the state Department of Public Safety.

Heavily damaged, Barnett's car careened off the truck and struck the bank of a ditch. He was not wearing a seat belt and was partially ejected from the car, said Barry McRoy, director of the Colleton County Fire and Rescue Department.

Barnett was pronounced dead at the scene, Colleton County Coroner Richard Harvey said. An autopsy is scheduled for today.

The truck, which had its front axle knocked off from the impact, veered into a ditch, taking down a utility pole and power lines before striking several trees, McRoy said. The truck driver received minor injuries, he said.

Gaulden identified the truck driver as Gary M. Graham, 33, of Elgin.

Barnett, a North Charleston resident, had just worked a 12-hour shift that ended at 7 a.m. Tuesday, said Paul Verrecchia, director of Public Safety at the College of Charleston. He was still in uniform when the crash occurred.

Verrecchia said he didn't know where Barnett might have been headed at the time.

"It's a shock," he said. "Right now, I have several very stunned officers working around here."

The crash snarled traffic along the road for about 2 1/2 hours, Gaulden said. Troopers from the S.C. Highway Patrol are investigating the wreck.

Barnett, who was single, became a public safety officer in December 2007 and worked general patrol on the campus, Verrecchia said. He moved to the Lowcountry from Alabama with the intention of working as a campus police officer, he said.

"He was well-liked. In the 13 or so months he worked here, he had gained the admiration and respect of all his brother and sister members of the department," Verrecchia said. "In our mourning his loss, our hearts and prayers go out to his family as well."

Reach Glenn Smith at 937-5556 or gsmith@postandcourier.com.