05/May/2015 – Fatal MVC with entrapment – “A” Shift

Incident # 15-02405 - An adult male died from injuries he received in a three vehicle collision on I-95 near the 61 mile marker southbound. The accident occurred Tuesday morning 05-May at 05:34 when a Penske Box Style Truck lost control and flipped on its side. Two occupants kicked out a portion of the windshield and exited the vehicle. They then assisted a third person out through an elevated cab door. An adult male in the truck was injured. The over-turned truck was blocking 1-1/2 lanes of the Interstate. The accident occurred on dark rural stretch of the highway approximately 1 mile south of McLeod Road. Several minutes after the first accident, a southbound passenger car collided with the bottom of the Penske Truck. Apparently a southbound van then immediately collided with the car. The passenger car suffered heavy damage and the driver was trapped in the wreckage. His vehicle came to rest in the breakdown lane. The van traveled several hundred feet south of the over-turned truck and drove into the wooded median, where it struck several trees. The driver of the van was not injured.

Fire-Rescue units arrived to find the entire southbound lanes of I-95 completely blocked by the damaged vehicles and debris. The driver of the passenger car was unconscious, heavily entrapped in the wreckage and in critical condition due to multiple traumatic injuries. One additional ambulance and a medical helicopter were requested, however the helicopter had an extended ETA. Firefighter-Paramedics began treating the man as other crewmembers used Holmatro Rescue Tools to extricate the him from the car. It took Firefighters approximately 15 minutes to free the man. He went into cardiac arrest shortly after being placed in Medic 26. The helicopter was cancelled and Medic 26 rapidly transported him to Colleton Medical Center. Medic 1 also transported one of the men from the Penske truck to CMC. Traffic on southbound I-95 was stopped for over three and half hours until recovery crews could right the truck and clear the cars and debris from the roadway. The SC Highway Patrol and State Transport Police are investigating the crash.

Engine 26, Medic 1, Medic 26, Rescue 1, Battalion 1 and Car 12 responded. Battalion Chief Dan Barb served as Incident Commander.