RICHLAND COUNTY, S.C.-- The Richland County deputy that was dragged through a parking lot after a routine traffic stop about two weeks ago is speaking about his experience.
In his first interview since the accident, Deputy Kelly Randall, a married father of three, gave us his account of the critical moments of that traffic stop. "When the suspect tried to accelerate and leave the area, I was, my partner was hit by the door, which caused the door to close back on me - forcing me back halfway into the vehicle."
"It appeared to me he had stepped right down on the gas. We were in a gravel parking lot, so the tires didn't squeal, but it was full acceleration. It was scary. I didn't know what was going to happen."
Randall has been back on the job for about a week now, leading WIS News 10's Jennifer Wilson to ask, "Law enforcement is a dangerous job. Why do you do it?"
Deputy Randall said, "We're hired to protect the citizens of this community, or any community, in the state of South Carolina. And I've been doing it for approximately 20 years. And I think it's, I can benefit people in the community."
The deputy is not sure how far he was dragged. He remembers waking up in an ambulance.
After the WIS News 10 interview with Deputy Randall, Jennifer also sat down with his wife.
Randall's wife Shirley knows his job can be dangerous. She also spoke about the day he was dragged.
"One of the officers Kelly works with came to where I work," she said. "I was already angry when I saw a police car there and it was not Kelly's. My first instinct was, 'I don't want to talk to you.' "
"His first words were, 'I don't want to alarm you - but' and he said, 'Kelly has been in an accident and I'm here to take you to the hospital.'"
Shirley Randall rushed see her husband of 27 years in the emergency room. "He was lying flat. He had a neck brace on."
"His first words were, 'I'm okay, and he said that many times that day.'"
The deputy had no serious injuries. The couple left the hospital that night, thankful.
Shirley said she does worry about Kelly when he goes to work, but "the only way to get through the day is to turn it off. And I do pretty good at that until I hear a siren, and then I think about it. But I do worry, but I worry about life in general, too, as far as the kids and anyone who leaves the house."
As far as the suspect who took off in the car, she said, "He's a kid, only 20-something. He made a stupid mistake. I have three kids, so."
But she believes her husband had some help. "Kelly's mom died in January. I think she had something to do with this - that he was not more hurt than he was."
Shirley Randall and her husband have three grown children.
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