With blessings, come curses?
Early last Wednesday morning, the SUV of the first black mayor-elect of Columbia, S.C., Steve Benjamin, collided with the vehicle of Deborah Rubens, 61, just one day after the announcement of his mayoral victory.
Rubens, a popular waitress at a local hotel’s restaurant who was known to several politicians in Columbia, remains in critical condition following the crash.
According to The State, a local newspaper, Rubens was on a ventilator but had responded to family members. A family friend revealed that she has a broken pelvis and brain injury.
Benjamin was on his way to an early morning television interview just before 6 a.m. when the accident occurred.
The Columbia Police Department hasn’t said who was at fault in the accident, but the state Highway Patrol said it independently verified that there “was no impairment on Benjamin’s part” at the time of the wreck, according to The State.
In a prepared statement, the mayor-elect said the following: “As to the accident, the city police are conducting a complete investigation. Because of my position as Mayor-Elect, I requested that the city ask another law enforcement agency to participate in the investigation to avoid the appearance of favoritism. It would be inappropriate for me to comment before they have finished their work.”
The accident is now under investigation by the South Carolina State Police. –gerald radford
