Williams assumed the role of Acting Superintendent at the beginning of June following the resignation of former Superintendent Dr. Vallerie Cave.

In a statement, Board Chair Patricia Simmons said that Williams "is a lifelong Colletonian, graduate of our schools, and a professional employee of over 30 years; she has filled many instructional positions in our schools and has the full support of the board."

Simmons also said that "student achievement has always been, and will remain," the district's highest priority.

The board will announce plans to conduct a search for a permanent superintendent in the coming months, according to Simmons.

According to Colleton County Fire-Rescue, crews were dispatched to a crash on Interstate 95 North near mile marker 55 at 4:10 p.m.

Three people were treated for injuries at the scene and then transported to local hospitals.

One passenger in the back seat collided with a tree during the crash and suffered a head injury.

Reports say the crash happened during a series of severe thunderstorms and was one of nearly a dozen incidents that occurred during the weather.

The SC Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.

The drowning happened May 1 near SC 61 and Mars Old Field Landing.

Witnesses said that the child was playing in shallow water around 7:30 p.m. before being swept away by the current.

Her body was discovered by dive teams the next day.

The child's mother, Taisha Moody, is facing four counts of unlawful conduct towards a child and one count of murder.

She is expected to appear in court on July 14.

Drivers in Colleton County can expect to see additional troopers and police along SC-64 on Thursday, June 8, and Friday, June 9, according to SCDPS.

The South Carolina Highway Patrol and State Transport Police will work alongside local law enforcement with a special focus on DUI, speeding, and aggressive and distracted driving. The State Transport Police will also focus on commercial motor vehicle violations in the area.

The Area Coordinated Enforcement (ACE) operation is part of a multi-agency effort to reduce the number of collisions and fatalities on roads statewide.

There have been 10 traffic fatalities reported in Colleton County to date in 2023, according to the SCDPS dashboard.

Murdaugh initially told his insurance companies that Satterfield tripped over his dogs and fell down the front porch stairs. He secured over $4.3 million in wrongful death settlement funds, but funneled it all to a personal account. He later recanted on the dogs being the cause for the fall.

In his motion to vacate the confession, Murdaugh admitted that he lied to his insurance companies to secure a higher payout, but contends that he was not truly liable in Satterfield’s death, claiming she fell due to medical conditions and side effects of medications she was taking at the time.

Murdaugh argued that his original confession should be void because it wrongfully blamed the fall on the dogs.

The response by Satterfield's lawyers compares Murdaugh's motion to "a spoiled child... overindulged and undisciplined."

It goes on to say that his actions have "wasted this Court's time and have unnecessarily caused the further victimization of the Satterfield family."

The motion also includes several documents from around the time of Satterfield's death, including approvals of the insurance payouts. Those documents do not mention the dogs as the cause for death, so Satterfield's lawyers argue that even if Murdaugh lied about the dogs being the cause, the payouts should not be void.

Ultimately, the motion accuses Murdaugh of trying to game the judicial system to avoid paying back money he stole:

"When it served Murdaugh to parade the Confession before Courts as a sign of his magnanimousness and contrition, he did so.10 When Nautilus said in effect, 'thanks for admitting you stole the money we paid to you beneficially for the Satterfields, we would like it back now,' he reversed course and now seeks to disavow the same Confession. The goal of judicial estoppel 'is to prevent a party from playing 'fast and loose' with the courts, and to protect the essential integrity of the process.' Who has played faster or looser with the Courts than Murdaugh?"

The motion argues that the Satterfields are entitled "to sanctions against both Murdaugh and his legal counsel in order to punish their conduct and deter such similar abuses of the Plaintiffs and the legal system going forward."

Editor's note: This story is breaking and may be updated.

According to CCFR, the incident happened on I-95 north near mile marker 39 early Monday morning.

CCFR was requested shortly before 5:30 a.m. and several Hampton County units were already on scene.

Because I-95 northbound was blocked, CCFR had to drive three miles in the southbound lanes to reach the scene.

CCFR said that two patients in a black minivan were trapped and critically injured, one of whom was injured too badly to be transported by helicopter.

The female patient was taken by ambulance to Colleton Medical Center where she was stabilized, then transferred via helicopter to Trident Medical Center in North Charleston.

Two other people were taken by ambulance to Colleton Medical Center as well.

Two dogs were involved in the crash, "but did not appear to have received any serious injuries," according to CCFR.

The road was shut down for several hours as crews processed the scene.

The South Carolina Highway Patrol is investigating.

According to Colleton County Fire-Rescue, crews were dispatched to a structure fire on Ruffin Road at 1:26 a.m. Saturday.

Units arrived to find a two story wood home "well involved with flames consuming the roof."

Firefighters confirmed that there were no occupants in the building.

Crews were able to stop the spread of the fire, however the second story collapsed resulting in heavy damage to the home.

CCFR says the cause of the fire appears to be electrical.

Some personal items were saved but the home suffered major damage.

The Red Cross is assisting the family. 

Dr. Cave was placed on administrative leave weeks ago with little explanation as to why.

The board did not elaborate on the nature of the investigation and said that there will be no further comment "due to this being an ongoing personnel matter."

Dr. Cave has served as superintendent since July of 2021, after she was unanimously selected by the board.

The board voted four to three to accept her resignation.

Assistant superintendent Jessica Williams will serve as the acting superintendent until the board takes further action.

Editor's note: This story is breaking and will be updated.

Colleton County Fire-Rescue responded to a structure fire on Deleoch Avenue at 11:27 a.m. Thursday morning.

CCFR arrived to find flames on the eaves and roof of the home.

Pieces of the roof had dropped into the home and caught fire.

Crews quickly extinguished the fire.

The homeowner had attempted to burn brush around the front of the home. CCFR believes the tall brush ignited the wooden eaves on the roof.

According to reports, a previous fire in 2021 substantially damaged the home.

The fire happened at a duplex apartment around 9:00 a.m. when a resident smelled smoke and discovered flames coming from the front windows of a nearby apartment.

Residents were able to get out of the apartment and call 911.

According to Colleton County Fire Rescue, crews arrived to find heavy smoke conditions and flames coming from the front window on the west side of the building.

Fire officials used hand lands to extinguish the fire from the outside of the building.

One apartment received heavy fire damage. The family lost most of their belongings and is receiving support from the American Red Cross.

The adjoining apartment suffered damage to the attic and smoke damage.

No injuries were reported.

Units were on the scene for nearly two hours investigating.

Reports say the cause of the fire appears to have been electrical and started at an outlet in a front bedroom.

It comes after school board members voted last week to place Dr. Cave on administrative leave following a lengthy executive session to “investigate information brought to the board’s attention.”

Details about that investigation were not provided.

Board members are again expected to meet in executive session Tuesday evening while they discuss Dr. Cave’s contract and employment status.

The board began discussions on Dr. Cave’s employment back in February of this year but never reached a publicly known decision until the May 18^th board meeting.

Assistant Superintendent Jessica Williams has been serving as the acting superintendent.

Dr. Cave was named superintendent in July 2021 after she was unanimously selected by the board.

The crash happened around 9 p.m. along SC-61 near Can City Road, just outside Canadys.

A motorcyclist was headed southbound on SC-61 when they crossed into the northbound lane and sideswiped a Chrysler sedan, according to Master Trooper Mitchell Ridgeway with the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

The collision caused the motorcyclist to spill onto the roadway.

The motorcyclist was then struck by an unknown vehicle that left the scene of the crash. The operator was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the Chrysler was injured and transported to an area hospital.

The identity of the deceased victim is due to be released by the coroner's office when appropriate.

Firefighters were called to a home off Claudia Court around 7:00 p.m. where they discovered the single-wide mobile home was about 50% involved with heavy smoke and flames.

“Firefighter-Paramedics deployed two handlines to the building and quickly knocked down the fire, then entered the home to extinguish the remaining flames,” said fire-rescue officials.

Fire officials said the home suffered substantial damage and noted that the occupants lost most of their belongings.

A man who lived at the home said he was outside when he discovered the fire. He told firefighters that he had been cooking earlier.

Officials said the fire appeared to have started in the kitchen area.

No one was injured during the fire.

Officials with Colleton County Fire Rescue said the crash happened around 8:00 p.m. near the intersection of Johnsville Road and Rushton Lane.

While en route, emergency crews were met about two miles from the incident location by a vehicle that was carrying an injured female.

Firefighter paramedics began treating the woman the at scene, but a helicopter was requested to take her to a hospital. Her extent of injuries is unclear.

Meanwhile, an additional medical unit was flagged down by bystanders near the Johnsville baseball field. Officials said bystanders carried an injured male to the ambulance.

The man was treated at the scene before being taken to Colleton Medical Center.

The Colleton County Sheriff’s Office and South Carolina Highway Patrol are investigating the crash.