Crosswalk light installed the day after Gretchen Randall’s death

ANDERSON COUNTY — Anderson School District 1 has installed a light at the crosswalk on Wren School Road where Gretchen Randall was struck and killed by a passing vehicle Friday night.

Randall was pronounced dead on arrival at Greenville Hospital System after a 2008 Toyota 4Runner struck her and her 15-year-old daughter.

Randall’s daughter, Kristin, a Wren High School student, was airlifted to Greenville Memorial Hospital, where she was discharged Tuesday afternoon.

On Friday night, Anderson County Deputy Coroner Don McCown said the crosswalk where the accident happened outside Wren High in Piedmont was “poorly lit,” and Lance Cpl. Kathy Hiles of the South Carolina Highway Patrol said the lighting conditions would be part of the accident investigation.

James Ammons, the man driving the vehicle, told investigators he did not see the mother and daughter before he struck them. Ammons has not been charged.

By the time hundreds gathered in Easley for Gretchen Randall’s funeral Wednesday, a new light had been installed at the crosswalk.

Superintendent Wayne Fowler of Williamston-based District 1 said the district worked with state and local officials to make that installation happen.

“Because of our concerns over the intersection, we contacted the South Carolina Department of Transportation and asked them to install a light at the crosswalk,” Fowler said. “The state DOT said it does not provide lighting.”

Fowler said the transportation department gave the district permission to install a light at its own expense.

“The school district does not have the authority to illuminate property it doesn’t have jurisdiction over,” Fowler said. “However, once the department of transportation gave us the verbal authority to install a light there, we contacted Duke Energy, and they were able to install a light the next day.”

Wren School Road is the site of three crosswalks. Two now have light, Fowler said, and the district has approached the transportation department for permission to install a light for the third crosswalk.

“We are following all of the procedures and regulations of the South Carolina Department of Transportation and the Anderson County Department of Transportation,” he said. “Everybody is working together to see what can be done.”

Calls to the transportation department were not returned Wednesday.