Cheraw native selected to lead SCHP reconstruction unit

COLUMBIA—The South Carolina Highway Patrol announces that Robert I. Lee, a Cheraw native, has been promoted to captain and will oversee its Multi-Disciplinary Accident Investigation (MAIT) Unit.  Lee has worked for the Highway Patrol since 1990 and has worked on the MAIT Unit since 2000.

“It is an honor to be chosen to lead the MAIT Unit,” Lee said. “Collision reconstruction is important on many fronts from successful prosecution of a crime to helping families get needed answers to questions following a serious motor vehicle collision.”

The MAIT unit is called to the scene of all fatal collisions where the at-fault driver survives.

Lee began his career with the patrol stationed in Berkeley County from 1990 to 1992 and in Dorchester County from 1992 to 1994.  In 1994, he moved back home to Chesterfield County, where he remained until joining the MAIT Unit in 2000.

Lee was promoted to the rank of corporal in December 2001. In October 2002, the patrol established the Pee Dee MAIT in Florence and promoted Lee to the rank of sergeant to oversee this team. He was promoted to the rank of first sergeant in September 2006 while still assigned to the MAIT’s Pee Dee Region. In February 2008, Lee was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and transferred to headquarters in Columbia.

During his career Lee investigated more than 2,500 collisions and has reconstructed more than 500 collisions. During his tenure with the Pee Dee MAIT, his team was the first in South Carolina to have introduced as evidence in court animation and air bag control module data (ACM). The Pee Dee MAIT was the first reconstruction unit in the country to prove intent on the part of a driver using ACM data. 

Lee is a member of The National Association of Professional Accident Reconstruction Specialists (NAPARS). Lee is also a nationally accredited collision reconstructionist through The Accreditation Commission for Traffic Accident Reconstruction (ACTAR).

“Captain Lee is someone who deeply cares about the quality of his work and the importance of collision reconstruction,” said Highway Patrol Col. Kenny Lancaster Jr. “He not only oversees MAIT but is actively involved in multiple highway safety initiatives both within and beyond the department.”

Lee resides in Cheraw with his wife Mary Thomas Johnson-Lee, Assistant Solicitor of the 4th Judicial Circuit, and their three children, Robert, Mary Adger and Thomas. He is the son of Mrs. Pat Lee, Cheraw, and the late Olin S. Lee, Sr.