Kyle Carpenter, a U.S. Marine veteran awarded the military's top honor last year when he took a Taliban lobbed grenade blast in Afghanistan to save a fellow Marine, has been charged in a hit-and-run in South Carolina, according to the Huffington Post. The Medal of Honor veteran turned himself in to Columbia police Thursday over the accident in which Carpenter allegedly made an improper left hand turn, hitting a pedestrian crossing the road and then left the scene.
The 18-year-old pedestrian refused treatment at the scene for injuries sustained, including an injured leg and scrapes. Carpenter said he pulled over at the scene, turned on his hazards, but left when the pedestrian moved to the sidewalk.
Carpenter, 26, was wounded in 2010 in a small Afghan village in Helmand province. He has had almost 40 surgeries, lost an eye and received a prosthetic eye, a new jaw, new teeth and multiple skin grafts. He spent five weeks in a coma and two years in a rehabilitation center, according to Military.
Carpenter is the youngest recipient of the Medal of Honor, awarded to him in 2014 from President Barack Obama, who said, "This United States Marine faced down that terrible explosive power, that unforgiving force, with his own body, willingly and deliberately, to protect a fellow Marine."
Carpenter and his attorney were in court Thursday where Carpenter was charged with hit-and-run and making an improper left turn, both misdemeanor charges, according to Fox 8.
