Holly Hembree struck Greenville couple after leaving bar

Staff Writer

rseaborn@pickenssentinel.com

GREENVILLE - An Easley woman who struck and killed a Greenville couple with her vehicle last week told a judge Friday that she had fallen asleep while driving after being in a area bar for most of the night.

Holly Maree Hembree, of 209 Gelola Drive, was given a $100,000 surety bond, Marsha Barker, victim advocate and spokesperson with the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Solicitor's Office said.

And should Hembree be able to make that bond and obtain release from jail, she was ordered by the judge to wear a GPS monitoring devise at all times until her case is heard in a general sessions courtroom, Barker said.

On Sept. 16, Bill and Ruth Carey, who would have celebrated their 46th wedding anniversary in November, were taking their daily morning walk through their neighborhood when they were struck and killed by the 2003 Jeep Liberty Hembree was driving.

Hembree's attorney, Bozzie Boggs, said that his client was not aware that she had hit anyone when she drove away, Barker said.

Earlier statements by the S.C. Highway Patrol said that Hembree's vehicle first struck a 2005 Honda that was stopped for a traffic sign at Oakdale Drive and West Parker Road before driving over the roadside curb and hitting the couple.

While law enforcement officials believe that Hembree had been drinking the night before the early morning collision, several hours had passed before her arrest and blood-alcohol levels would not be an accurate indicator, Barker said.

"She admitted to being in a bar until about 5:30 that morning, but said she wasn't drinking," Barker said.

Her attorney said that since Hembree had allowed her sister-in-law to use the Jeep to take his client's three children to school, and that Hembree herself had driven the vehicle later that evening was evidence that she was not aware of being involved in a collision that left two people dead, Barker said.

Hembree was arrested at 6:15 p.m., about 11 hours after driving over the couple, when a state trooper saw a vehicle matching the description and having front-end damage driving on S.C. 183, near U.S. 25 and conducted a traffic stop.

In initial interviews, Hembree told investigators that a friend had driven her home from the bar, but later said that she had driven herself and had fallen asleep at the wheel, Baker said.

Hembree has been charged with two counts of reckless homicide and leaving the scene of an accident with death.

"Leaving the scene of an accident with great bodily injuries carries the same penalty as felony DUI, so that, alone, is a serious charge," Barker said.