Incident # 24-02912 - A New York couple perished and two others in a minivan were injured in a two vehicle high speed MVC on Interstate 95 near the 55 mile marker northbound, Sunday morning 14-April at 09:41. Two northbound vehicles collided at the Beach Road overpass, causing a Chevrolet Malibu to leave the roadway. The Malibu went down the embankment, uprooted a large tree, then struck a second large tree and overturned. The engine was ejected from the car and caught fire. The Malibu suffered massive damage. Fire-Rescue units arrived minutes later. Engine 1 deployed one handline to extinguish the engine fire. Both occupants of the Malibu suffered multiple traumatic injuries and were heavily entrapped. Firefighter-Paramedics determined they were both deceased and requested the Coroner's Office who responded to the scene. The two occupants in the minivan suffered non-life threatening injuries and were evaluated at the scene by Firefighter-Paramedics. Both denied ambulance transport to the hospital. Once the Coroner's Office and Highway Patrol completed their investigations, crews used chainsaws and winches to remove the trees that fell on the Malibu. A winch on a Fire-Rescue vehicle was used to right the car. It was then stabilized. Crews used Holmatro Pentheon Rescue Tools to remove the driver's side doors, the remaining front of the car and a portion of the roof. A hydraulic ram was used to displace the dash to free the occupants. They were transported by the Coroner's Office. Traffic on I-95 was down to one lane for three hours and backed up for several miles. The accident is being investigated by the SC Highway Patrol.
