Ware Shoals native, Greenwood Police officer killed in line of duty

Photo from Greenwood Police Department

A Greenwood Police officer killed in a collision Monday night during a pursuit was identified Tuesday as D.J. Keller, a Ware Shoals native and Ware Shoals High School graduate.

Keller, 31, is survived by his wife, Allison, and a 2-year-old daughter.

According to the South Carolina Highway Patrol, Keller was pursuing suspects in a 2016 Jeep Cherokee eastbound on Cambridge Avenue when the crash occurred just before 5 p.m.

SCHP Master Trooper Hannah Davidson said the suspects crossed a center line and collided head-on with Keller’s police vehicle, a Ford Explorer. Davidson said two of the occupants of the Jeep, who were ages 15, 17 and 18, were taken to local hospitals.

Keller, a U.S. Army veteran an member of the S.C. National Guard, joined the GPD in 2023 and was also a K9 handler and teamed with K9 officer Vice. Vice was uninjured.

The crash is still under investigation by the SCHP.

Greenwood Police Chief T.J. Chaudoin said the teens in the Jeep, which was being driven by the 15-year-old, were also suspects in prior shooting incidents in the city.