SC: Ankle bracelet SCRAM detects alcohol in your body
By Jennifer Phillips
May 8, 2019
GREENVILLE COUNTY, SC (FOX Carolina) Just off Latimer Mill Road in Honea Path, troopers responded to a flipped car down an embankment. They say 17-year-old Savannah Hutchinson lost control of the car and went off the road. One passenger in the car, Kayla Cooley, is out of a hospital, but, another passenger 18-year-old Dayton Sellers died at the scene. Troopers charged Hutchinson with felony DUI and a judge set a $15,000 bond with conditions. One of those conditions is Hutchinson is not allowed to drive and she must wear an ankle bracelet.
“I’m going to place you on ankle monitor the acronym is SCRAM- and basically what that measures is your alcohol content in your body,” a judge told her during a bond court hearing Tuesday afternoon.
Maj. Marshall Stowers handles Support Services with the Greenville County Dentention Center and explained how SCRAM, the ankle device, works.
“It stands for secure, remote, alcohol, monitoring,” Stowers said.”It’s a one piece device that goes around the ankle. Every time you perspire it measures the alcohol content in your perspiration.”
Each week SCRAM participants download activity from the device.
“They can either use a cell phone or a wireless to download, go download the information we’ll get it at the monitoring center,” Stowers said.
Stowers said SCRAM is an effective program.
“Those people on the program don’t have positive alcohol readings. So, what we learn from that is it does deter that person at least while they’re on the program from drinking alcohol,” he said.
Right now Hutchinson is considered a pre-trial offender. She’s charged in the case, but isn’t convicted of anything.
“If that monitor should go off you’ll be coming back to jail,” a judge told Hutchinson.