Friday, a judge set bond for a former Charleston County deputy who faces three charges in connection with a crash that killed three women from Colleton County.
Emily Pelletier, 24, is charged with three counts of reckless homicide in connection with the Mother’s Day crash that killed Stephanie Dantzler, 53, and her daughters, Shanice Dantzler-Williams, 28, and Miranda Dantzler-Williams, 22.
A judge imposed a $25,000 surety bond for each of the three charges, totaling $75,000. Pelletier is prohibited from contacting the families of the victims and cannot leave the state as conditions of her bond. According to court records, she posted bail approximately two hours after her arrest.
Pelletier appeared solemn during the virtual hearing, speaking only when the judge asked if she understood the terms of her bond.
The bond hearing took place shortly after she turned herself in at the Al Cannon Detention Center. She was booked into the Al Cannon Detention Center at 1:45 p.m., according to the jail’s records.
Pelletier’s mother, father, and sister did attend the hearing in her support and sat across from the Dantzler-Williams family, who lost a mother and two daughters in the Mother’s Day crash.
Friday, May 8, at 10:55 p.m., the South Carolina Highway Patrol reported that a fatal collision occurred at the intersection of U.S. Highway 17 and New Road in Charleston County. According to the sheriff’s spokesman, Andrew Knapp, her employment with the sheriff’s office was terminated “for policy violations” These violations included unsafe operation of a vehicle and disregard for local laws.
After releasing a report indicating that Pelletier was traveling at 73 miles per hour when she ran a stop sign and collided with the car, troopers announced on Tuesday that they would be filing charges against her.
On the same day, Charleston County Sheriff Kristin Graziano stated unequivocally that Pelletier ran the stop sign while on Savannah Highway en route to assist another officer with a disabled motorist.
“She ran a stop sign and collided with, hit the vehicle that was driven by Shanice. She struck the vehicle, there’s no doubt about that,” Graziano stated at a news conference held outside the Dantzler family’s home in Green Pond.
