Associated Press
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley was a passenger in an SUV that crashed into a concrete pole during a fundraiser in North Carolina two months ago, authorities said Tuesday.
Haley, the State Law Enforcement Division agent driving her and two passengers in the 2011 Chevrolet weren't injured in the June 27 wreck, SLED Chief Mark Keel said.
A North Carolina Highway Patrol report on the crash said the SLED agent didn't see a pole in the roadway at a resort in Greensboro. N.C., and hit it at about 10 mph. The agent was not charged, but the report blamed his inattention for the wreck.
Haley's office referred all questions about the wreck to SLED and the N.C. Highway Patrol.
Haley planned to attend a $5,000-a-person retreat at the exclusive Grandover Resort in Greensboro being held by North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory, according to news reports in June.
The front end of the SUV was heavily damaged when it hit the short pole and the vehicle was inoperable. The wreck did $4,300 damage to the state-owned SUV, which was repaired in about a week and is back in service, Keel said.
Supervisors discussed the wreck with the agent, but he was not disciplined by the agency and is still working, Keel said.
SLED decided not to release details about the wreck to the media about the wreck because it involved only the governor's vehicle and no one was hurt, Keel said. The chief compared it to hitting a mailbox or a gate at the governor's mansion.
"It wasn't anyone's intent to hide anything. Nobody thought about it anymore after it happened. It was a minor incident," Keel said.