09/16/2025
🚨 Move Over for Blue Lights — Save a Life 🚨
Every time a trooper puts on the uniform, they aren’t just an officer — they are someone’s husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter, or friend. Behind every badge is a person who wants nothing more than to do their job and make it home safely at the end of the shift.
Yesterday, Master Trooper Wayne LaBounty, a 40-year veteran of law enforcement, was struck by a vehicle during a traffic stop in Lexington County. He was airlifted to Prisma Health and remains in serious condition. Please keep him, his family, and his Highway Patrol family in your prayers. 💙🙏
I met Wayne back in 1999 when I started as a dispatcher with the South Carolina Highway Patrol and later worked alongside him on the road as a trooper in Lexington County. He is one of a kind, and we’re all so thankful that God protected him yesterday.
Tragically, he is the third South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper injured or killed in just the past month:
1️⃣ Trooper First Class Dennis D. Ricks — Died from injuries on August 13, 2025.
2️⃣ Senior Trooper Mitchell Williams Jr. — Recovering at home from injuries sustained on September 7.
3️⃣ Master Trooper Wayne LaBounty — In serious condition after being struck on September 9.
These are not just names. These are lives, families, and futures forever changed. Please slow down, move over for blue lights, and never drive impaired.
Your actions behind the wheel could mean the difference between an officer making it home to hug their family — or becoming the next name on this list. 💙
If you would like to help Wayne, please consider donating at https://www.serveandconnect.org/blog/trooper-first-class-wayne-labounty-recovery-fund/
