Mom of woman killed in jet-ski wreck wants law that requires breathalyzers

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Melissa Grice won’t be able to give her daughter, Millicent McDonald, a gift for what would’ve been the girl’s 20th birthday on Nov. 18.

McDonald was killed in a jet-ski wreck on Lake Marion in May. The man who hit her, 26-year-old Justin Walters, was charged in late September with reckless homicide by watercraft, a charge that carries up to 10 years in prison.

Walters passed field sobriety tests, according to law enforcement officers with the state Department of Natural Resources. No breathalyzer test was administered, and DNR is not required to administer such tests under state law.

Grice is asking folks to sign a petition to change that, and hopes what she’s calling Milli’s Law will be implemented soon by the General Assembly.

“I can’t give my daughter anything for her birthday, so all I can do is get this petition going that asks for a law to be put in place requiring (the state Department of Natural Resources) to give a breathalyzer after a watercraft incident,” Grice said Tuesday.

Grice, who is married to Clarendon County Sheriff’s Dep. Ernie Grice, said even her husband was unaware that DNR did not have to give breathalyzers after watercraft wrecks.

“The water laws and road laws are far from the same,” she said. “And because (Walters) passed field sobriety tests, DNR saw no reason to breathalyze. But later, we find out he has DUIs in his past.”

Specifically, the law, if passed, will require DNR law enforcement officers to administer a breathalyzer test on any and all drivers involved in a watercraft wreck on any body of water in S.C. that results in great bodily injury or death.

“I think it’s something that we desperately need,” Grice said.

Petitions are at Clarendon Credit, Lisa Bair Rentals, Southern Exposure and The Manning Times.