A truck driver is credited with saving the lives of three people following a multi-vehicle accident on I-95 near the 49 mile marker northbound, Sunday 30-April at 09:53 in Colleton County, SC. Apparently, a car collided with a pickup truck causing the pickup to spin out of control on the rain slick highway. The car slid down the embankment and struck a tree trapping the male driver. The pickup truck came to rest sideways in the travel lanes. A northbound tractor-trailer was able to stop quickly and maneuver sideways stopping within two feet of the driver’s door of the disabled pickup truck avoiding a collision. A second northbound pickup truck drove into the rear of the tractor trailer at a high rate of speed with about five feet of the truck going under the back of the trailer. The male driver of the second pickup truck was heavily entrapped in his vehicle.

Both northbound lanes of I-95 were blocked by the wreckage. The first Colleton County (SC) Fire-Rescue unit found the driver of the second pickup truck conscious but entrapped. A medical helicopter was requested, but declined the flight due to poor weather conditions. The driver of the car was also trapped with the roof crushed into the passenger compartment. The man had no pulse and was not breathing. The Coroner’s Office was notified.

Firefighter-Paramedics removed debris from the passenger side of the pickup truck and were able to enter the vehicle. Access to the patient was limited, but patient care was initiated while other crewmembers deployed Holmatro rescue tools, using hydraulic spreaders to remove the driver’s door. Crews had the tractor trailer driver carefully pull the truck forward about three feet to provide room to displace the dash. The hydraulic spreader was used to push the dash forward and off of the patient who was extricated with spinal precautions and transported emergent by Medic 13 to the trauma center at Trident.

When the Coroner’s Office completed their investigation, extrication began on the passenger car. Hydraulic spreaders were used to remove the driver’s door, then cutters were used to remove the front section of the roof to free the driver who was transported by the Coroner’s Office. A female passenger in the same vehicle received only minor injuries and was transported to Colleton Medical Center by Medic 26. Northbound traffic on I-95 was stopped in the area of the accident for over two hours.

Engine 1, Rescue 1, Medic 1, Medic 13, Medic 26, Battalion 1, and Car 109 responded. Battalion Chief Brent Dalton served as Incident Commander.

Barry W. McRoy ,Fire Chief ,Colleton County Fire-Rescue

Barry W. McRoy photo

Barry W. McRoy photo

Barry W. McRoy photo

Barry W. McRoy photo

Barry W. McRoy photo