B” Shift – Mass Casualty / Mutual Aid MVC

Run # 10-05529 - Stations 6 and 19 responded as mutual aid to Beaufort County for a car vs tour bus MVC on US Highway 17 Thursday afternoon 7-October at 1551. The accident was reported to Colleton 9-1-1 Operators as being in Colleton County near the Green Pond Community. Multiple units were enroute to the area, when the correct location was identified as US Highway 17 at Kenloch Road in Beaufort County about 2 miles from the County line. A car collided with a Grayline Tour Bus on a new portion of the highway, causing the loaded tour bus to overturn. The car received heavy damage in the collision. The driver of the car was in critical condition and trapped in the wreckage. There were a total of 18 injured patients. Beaufort County requested assistance with the accident. Medic 6, Medic 19, Battalion 1, Car 110 and Engine 6 responded. Sheldon Fire Department (Beaufort County) was already on the scene, as well as several Beaufort County EMS units. Sheldon Fire Department quickly extricated the critical driver from the car. He was transported by ambulance to a nearby landing zone, then flown by Omniflight-Savannah (Lifestar) to the Trauma Center at Memorial Medical Center in Savannah, Georgia. The remainder of the patients from the bus were triaged, packaged and transported to Beaufort Memorial Hospital in Beaufort.

Traffic on US Highway 17 was rerouted on a newly constructed piece of roadway, so traffic continued to flow without much interruption. The SC Highway Patrol and Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office worked the accident.

Colleton County units: Medic 6, Medic 19, Engine 6, Battalion 1, Car 12 and Car 110 responded.

Beaufort County units: Sheldon Fire Department and Beaufort County EMS responded.

Sheldon Fire Chief Buddy Jones served as Incident Commander.