S.C. sheriff’s deputy killed in fatal collision

Deputy Jacob Eric Salrin, 23, was hired by the Richland County Sheriff’s Department in 2022

September 30, 2023 11:23 PM

RCSD deputy.png — Deputy Jacob Eric Salrin

Duty Death: Jacob Eric Salrin - [Richland County]

End of Service: 29/09/2023

By Ted Clifford
The State

RICHLAND COUNTY, S.C. — A deputy with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department was killed in a collision on Bluff Road Friday evening.

“It is with unimaginable sadness that Sheriff Leon Lott announces the death of Deputy Jacob Eric Salrin from a fatal vehicle collision while on duty,” read a statement released by the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.

He was 23 years old.

“It’s a very hard time,” said a spokesperson for the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.

Salrin was hired by the Richland County Sheriff’s Department in 2022, according to the statement. In January 2023, he graduated from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy after completing their training program, where he was awarded the criminal justice academy’s “Clifford Moyer Marksmanship Award.”

As a patrol deputy, he was assigned to southeast Richland County.

The fatal crash took place at the intersection of Bluff Road and Windy Drive around 8:23 p.m. on Friday, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

Salrin was driving west in a 2017 Ford sedan when he collided with a 2014 Volvo tractor trailer in the eastbound lane that was attempting to make a left turn across traffic onto Windy Drive.

The deputy died at the scene. The driver of the tractor trailer was injured and transported to Prisma Health Baptist Hospital in Columbia.

Part of the road was closed following the collision.

The South Carolina Highway Patrol, which is leading the investigation, has said that the investigation is ongoing.

The sheriff’s department has said that funeral details will be released in the coming days. A patrol vehicle has been set up as a memorial for community members to place tributes in Salrin’s memory in front of the Richland County Sheriff’s Department headquarters, located at 5623 Two Notch Road in Columbia.

“We ask for the community’s prayers as we navigate this grief together,” the department said in their statement. “As the Richland County Sheriff’s Department mourns the loss of their brother, we thank the community for their support.”