FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 9, 2002
CONTACT: SID GAULDEN, 803-896-8755

COLUMBIA - The South Carolina Department of Public Safety announces that a man was arrested last night after his car ran a stop light at Senate and Sumter Streets and continued onto the southeast side of the Statehouse grounds where it was stopped by a recently installed steel barrier.

Tyler K. Rowe, 21, 294 South Royal Tower, Irmo, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence and simple possession of marijuana. The incident happened around 1 a.m. when Rowe was travelling west on Senate Street in his silver Nissan Altima. According to a witness, Rowe disregarded the stop light at Senate and Sumter streets and ran about 30 yards onto the grounds before his car was wedged between a steel barrier and a tree.

The witness said Rowe left the vehicle, which was surrounded by smoke, and started to walk away. Two Bureau of Protective Services officers patrolling the Statehouse grounds responded to the scene, detaining the suspect.

The Columbia Police Department made the charges. Rowe, who was not injured, was taken to the Richland County Detention Center.

“This is the reason those barriers were installed -- to protect the Statehouse grounds and those visiting from someone accidentally or purposely running onto the grounds and endangering visitors to the State Capitol,” said Gen. Steve Siegfried, director of Homeland Security in South Carolina. “I was pleased to see that the barriers worked the way we had intended.”

The steel barriers on the north and east sides of the Statehouse were installed several months ago after two similar incidences in the past year. The first incident happened in December 2001 when an intoxicated man drove onto the Statehouse grounds damaging the African-American monument. The other incident happened in February 2002 when a man drove onto the Statehouse steps. He was taken to a mental health facility following the incident.

The incident is still under investigation by the Columbia Police Department and the Bureau of Protective Services.

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