Summerton, SC (WLTX) -- The community and the Summerton Police Department are mourning after the death of one of their officers.
Monday morning 63-yera-old Carl Wiggins was on his way home from work, but he never made it. Wiggins was killed in a traffic accident after his SUV was hit from behind by an 18 wheeler on I-95. At the time, he car was parked in one of the lanes.
Now, his fellow officers and chief are in shock.
"I can never remember a day when Carl came into work and complained about anything that had went on prior to the shift, after the shift," Summerton Police Chief Ray Perdue said. "He would talk about his family, doing things with his family, the relationship with the town. He was not a complainer, if he said something to you it was positive."
Wiggins joined the Summerton Police Department in February 2016, but he was only a few months shy of hitting his 35 years of service in law enforcement overall.
"We could replace that position, but we cant replace Carl," Perdue said.
Once the news about Wiggins made its way around town, people came out to show their support to the police station.
"This whole place where I'm standing now was lined up with youth and with some others that were out here praying and out here mourning the death, his death out of respect for him and the police department," Perdue said.
Perdue said this showed just how much Wiggins meant to everyone in the community.
"I think it says for our community of Summerton hey, we care about the police department," Perdue said.
Perdue said Wiggins will be greatly missed. His funeral will take place this Friday in Holly Hill.