Police in Columbia, South Carolina have charged a recipient for the Medal of Honor with a hit and run.
Kyle Carpenter, a veteran who got the medal last year, was arrested on Thursday for a hit-and-run incident in early December, reported The State newspaper.
Carpenter, 26, appeared with his attorney at the Columbia Municipal Court in the morning. He was released from Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center after saying he would return to the court, according to a jail official.
He faces a $5,000 penalty if he doesn’t show up to court, the newspaper added.
The Columbia Police Department says Carpenter made an improper left turn and hit an 18-year-old pedestrian who was crossing the street in his favor.
After he hit the pedestrian, Carpenter pulled over and turned on his hazard lights but didn’t leave his vehicle to exchange the required information, police said. The pedestrian stood up and walked to the side of the road.
Carpenter “left the location without notifying the proper authorities” and the “driver of the vehicle involved in the accident did not return to the scene to give his name, address and the registration number of the vehicle nor made available his driver’s license or render reasonable aide or assistance to the victim,” the release said.
The official suffered injuries and was treated by EMS personnel, ABC Columbia reported.
There was no evidence of Carpenter or the unnamed victim being under the influence of drugs or alcohol during the incident, ABC added.
The incident is still being investigated. Authorities said that he fully cooperated.
Carpenter was awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest U.S. military decoration, for shielding fellow Marines from a grenade blast in Afghanistan five years ago. He spent five weeks in a coma and underwent dozens of surgeries and spent two years in a hospital.
Carpenter lost his right eye and most of his teeth in the blast.
