Courtesy photo

This patrol car was estimated as a total loss after a Pickens County sheriff’s deputy crashed it into a tree while responding to a call last week.

COUNTY — A Pickens County sheriff’s deputy was hospitalized after he wrecked his patrol car in an early-morning accident last week.

According to Pickens County Sheriff’s Office chief deputy Creed Hashe, deputy Thomas Camp lost control of his car on Edinburgh Lane near Easley at about 4:25 a.m. on Thursday and hit a tree.

Hashe said Camp, who has been employed by the sheriff’s office since July 2011, was taken to Greenville Memorial Hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening, injuries.

Camp was responding to a call of large animal in the road when his 2014 Ford patrol car left the shoulder of the road and hit a tree, according to Hashe. Camp was not responding with blue lights and siren and was the only occupant of the vehicle, which is estimated to be a total loss.

“We were blessed in that the deputy did not lose his life, and we pray for his speedy recovery,” sheriff Rick Clark said. “We will continue to look into the circumstances of this collision in regards to our policies and procedures as the South Carolina Highway Patrol conducts their investigation.”