APNewsBreak: SC gov’s driver pulled for speeding

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A Highway Patrol trooper stopped South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford’s car for speeding, but let his protective detail driver go without a ticket, an official said Wednesday.

State Department of Public Safety Director Mark Keel said he had reviewed a recording of the stop and that the State Law Enforcement Division agent will now be cited. Keel did not say how fast Sanford’s car was going Tuesday on Interstate 385, a heavily traveled route between Columbia and Greenville, but the recording shows the speed at 85 mph. The limit through that area is 65 mph, a public safety spokesman said.

Keel said Lance Cpl. R.S. Salter clocked a speeding dark-colored sedan and pulled it over two miles from I-26. Keel said the driver identified himself as SLED agent. When “asked why he was speeding, the agent said he was transporting the governor,” Keel said. He did not cite the driver, he said.

Sanford has been dealing with a criminal ethics investigation of his travel practices since he revealed an affair with an Argentine woman in June. State lawmakers have indicated they might try to impeach the Republican governor who has about 15 months left in his term.

In 2006, Sanford’s office was highly critical of the lieutenant governor when the Highway Patrol twice stopped him for speeding but did not issue tickets.

South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Chief Reggie Lloyd, whose agent was driving Sanford, said the ticket is appropriate.

“He did something that I thought was totally inappropriate, from the standpoint of the trooper, as well as the governor,” said Lloyd, adding that his agency would investigate to see if the agent would be punished. “I think we as an agency owe Trooper Salter, as well as the governor, an apology.”

Lloyd would not name the agent but said he is still on duty and is regularly assigned as part of the governor’s detail.

Sanford spokesman Ben Fox referred questions about the stop to Keel’s agency.

The governor’s schedule included an economic development announcement in Gaffney in the morning and speech in Easley at a Rotary Club lunch in the afternoon. Sanford left Easley in black Ford Crown Victoria just after wrapping up an interview with a reporter 2 p.m. He had meetings scheduled in Columbia in the afternoon, but no public events, his office said.

Sanford’s ground travel is in a state car operated by a detail of officers from SLED, the Highway Patrol and Department of Natural Resources.

The governor is dealing with other problems. Since he returned from Argentina in June and confessed the affair, his air travel practices have been under scrutiny. The State Ethics Commission is conducting a criminal investigation based on reports from The Associated Press that Sanford, among other things, used state planes for political and personal purposes and didn’t report trips on private planes owned by buddies and donors.

The Legislature is awaiting results of that probe to decide whether have a special session this fall for impeachment proceedings. Sanford said Tuesday he’s done nothing that comes close to warranting removal from office.

In February 2006, the Highway Patrol clocked Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer driving 101 mph but did not issue a ticket or warning. Saying he was driving himself home from a charity event at around midnight, Bauer apologized and said he didn’t realize how fast he was going.

A few months earlier, Bauer went unticketed for driving between 77 and 78 in a 65 mph zone. A repentant Bauer took to walking from his home to his office, strode 10 miles to file to run for re-election and eventually bought a tiny Smart ForTwo, joking it would keep him out of trouble.

The governor’s spokesman said Sanford and then-DPS Director Jim Schweitzer “believe very strongly that preferential treatment should never be a factor when enforcing the law.”

At the time, Bauer was preparing to file for the GOP primary and the news was a setback for his campaign.

Bauer declined to comment on Sanford’s SLED agent speeding.

Kinnard reported from Blythewood, S.C.