DUI and leaving the scene of a collision are charges against Christopher Arthur King.
A North Myrtle Beach Police (NMBPD) Officer, Christopher Arthur King was arrested and charged with causing a wreck in Surfside Beach last fall.
On September 7, 2023, at 10:04 p.m., Surfside Beach Police Department officers responded to a collision where a Jeep Wrangler ended up on top of a Ford Mustang.
As a witness told police, King’s Jeep Wrangler crossed Highway 17 and collided with the Ford Mustang. King,exited the Jeep from the rear and did not return.
According to the incident report, a woman who was in the Jeep at the time claimed she was driving, while two other witnesses said otherwise. All three witnesses said the driver was male.
According to the report, the female passenger inside the Jeep identified the male as “Chris King,” but she insisted that she was the driver.
As a result of further investigation, officers learned King was a Surfside Beach resident, so they went to his home in an attempt to locate him. Once he was located, officers brought the witnesses to the crime scene to confirm King’s identity.
His injuries were treated at South Strand Hospital after he was arrested at his home.
The suspect gave police a blood sample to test his blood alcohol level, but claimed to be the passenger. The blood testing kit was returned to “appropriate parties for further lab testing,” according to the police report.
He claimed a red mark the size of a seatbelt on his right upper biceps area proved he was seated in the passenger seat, according to the report. The area of King’s injury, however, did not appear consistent with where a shoulder belt would typically sit. King also reportedly sustained other injuries as a result of the severity of the crash, making it unclear how he obtained the red mark.
King was taken to J Reuben Long just after 2:30 a.m. and charged.
The NMBPD released the following statement about King’s arrest:
The North Myrtle Beach Police Department has placed an officer on administrative duty pending the outcome of an Internal Affairs investigation after he was charged with driving under the influence and fleeing the scene of an accident. Sgt. Chris King has worked for the department for eight years and currently serves as the Traffic Division supervisor. His augmented assignment stems from an accident that occurred at approximately 2200 hours on September 7, 2023. This incident occurred while King was off duty and in the jurisdiction of Surfside Beach, SC.