Incident # 22-05751 - Three people died and eight others were injured in a multi-vehicle MVC on Interstate 95 near the 52 mile marker southbound Sunday afternoon 24-July at 16:44. Battalion 1 arrived 4 minutes later to find the Interstate blocked and littered with debris. Five vehicles were in the median, two of which were on fire. One SUV was on the right shoulder. One 17 year old female was flown from the scene by the CARE Flight helicopter to the Trauma Center at Trident Medical Center in North Charleston. Fire-Rescue transported the remaining injured, which included several children, to Colleton Medical Center in three ambulances. Several bystanders attempted to rescue the three people from the burning car. One was an Army Sgt., who sustained minor burns during the attempt. He refused ambulance transport to a hospital. Firefighter-Paramedics used Holmatro Pentheon Rescue tools to extricate the trapped victims from the burned Mercedes. Southbound I-95 was closed for six hours. SCDOT crews set up a temporary detour at Exit 53 and rerouted traffic to Sniders Hwy. (SC Hwy 63). Walterboro Police and Sheriff's Deputies assisted with the traffic detour. The SC Hwy Patrol is investigating the accident and MAIT responded to the scene. The Colleton County Coroner's Office transported the bodies of the deceased.
Engine 1, Tender 26, Medic 13, Medic 19, Medic 26, Rescue 1, Battalion 1, Car 105, Car 112 and Car 116 responded. Battalion Chief Brent Dalton served as Incident Commander.
