STATE BRIEFS

Deputy shoots

motorist

LEXINGTON - A Lexington County sheriff's deputy has shot and wounded a West Columbia man after he drove into the officer during a traffic stop.

Sheriff's deputies say 21- year-old Zucorry Quattlebaum faces charges including speeding, driving with a suspended driver's license and failing to stop for police.

Sheriff James Metts says 35-year-old Master Deputy Shannon Lovell was trying to stop the car for speeding in West Columbia. Metts says when Lovell ordered the Quattlebaum to get out of the car, he drove into Lovell.

Officials say Lovell fired, hitting Quattlebaum in the jaw.

Lovell has been treated and released from a hospital. He's on administrative leave while the State Law Enforcement Division investigates the shooting.

The State newspaper of Columbia reported Quattlebaum is hospitalized in stable condition.

Missing child, mom

found safe

LORIS - Authorities say a 2-year-old Loris girl and her mother have been found safe in North Carolina after an Amber Alert was issued.

Police say the girl's father, Marco Vaught, was arrested in Brunswick County, N.C., late Saturday and will be brought back to Horry County to face charges.

Loris Police Chief Joseph Vaught says the girl and her mother were kidnapped Friday night.

Authorities in nearby Tabor City, N.C., say officers had been called to a home twice in the past week for disturbances involving Marco Vaught and his estranged wife, and she had a restraining order issued hours before she was kidnapped.

State mulls

car pool lanes

CHARLESTON - State transportation officials have asked for money from the federal government to study whether the first-ever car pool lanes in South Carolina should be built on Interstate 26 in Charleston.

The idea of adding highoccupancy vehicle lanes, often called HOV lanes, began as the area geared up for a project to widen part of I-26 to eight lanes. The lanes are dedicated to vehicles with at least two people in them.

''It's not a done deal, and we might run into so many obstacles that we find it doesn't work, but it's worth trying,'' said state Transportation Secretary Buck Limehouse told The Post and Courier of Charleston.

About 140,000 vehicles travel on the stretch of I-26 being widened, causing bottlenecks during rush hour.

Limehouse said he decided to discuss adding HOV lanes with his engineers after reading the newspaper's series addressing future transportation problems in the area.

''I had total resistance from them at first,'' Limehouse said. ''But most of the engineers came on board and are excited about it now.''