A Bamberg County woman who was falsely charged with driving with a suspended license has settled her lawsuit against the state of South Carolina.
According to reports, April Collins, the driver involved in the incident, has received $12,500 from the Insurance Reserve Fund of the state. This payment was made on behalf of the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. Collins had claimed that the incident had caused her immense physical and emotional trauma, which she referred to as “catastrophic.”
While she was working at the Orangeburg County jail, Collins was actually booked into the facility herself.
In 2021, a lawsuit revealed that she was issued a speeding ticket in May 2018, which was categorized as “minor.” However, she paid a fine of $76.88 in August of the same year. The lawsuit also provided evidence stating that her license would not be suspended, even if she failed to pay the fine.
According to Collins, she was completely unaware that her license had been marked as suspended in the DMV’s database, which led to her arrest by the Highway Patrol in January of 2019. She expressed feeling deeply embarrassed by the ordeal and described the experience as incredibly distressing and harmful to her well-being.
