A man was arrested early Wednesday after his pickup truck ran off the road, hit a woman and crashed into a business in downtown Clemson, city police said.
34-year-old John Christopher Thompson, of Pooler, Georgia, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence. Police say Thompson is not a Clemson University student.
Officers said they responded to a call around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday near Mr. Knickerbocker’s Greek Gallery on College Avenue. When they arrived, they learned a white Ford F-350 pickup truck had crossed lanes on College Avenue and drove up the sidewalk in front of The Greek Gallery. Three people, as well as a parked car, were hit during the incident.
The driver attempted to run from the scene according to a post on the Clemson City Police Department’s Facebook page, but he was stopped by witnesses. The suspect was detained by those civilians until officers arrived on scene according to the post.
Video posted by Max Huggins on Twitter shows those civilians carrying out a citizen’s arrest on Thompson.
One woman was taken to a local hospital with non life-threatening injuries. Clemson Police Chief Jimmy Dixon says the woman has been released from the hospital.
The Greek Gallery, which sells Clemson memorabilia and caters to sororities and fraternities, will be closed for the next few days the store posted on its Facebook page.
Police said there is no mugshot due to his being too intoxicated to take one and that Thompson refused to take a breathalyzer test.
Thompson’s bond was set at $1,224.50 during a bond hearing on Wednesday afternoon, Fox Carolina News reported. The judge said she wanted to set it higher but couldn’t as that it is the maximum allowed by law.
The judge said when Thompson makes bond he will be extradited to Tampa, Florida, where there is a warrant out for his arrest.