Four people died in a two-vehicle, high speed collision on Interstate 95 near the 44 mile marker southbound, Friday morning 11-November at 03:58. Colleton County (SC) Fire-Rescue units arrived to find a tractor-trailer off in the woods. A passenger car had been struck in the rear and also pushed into the woods. The larger truck crushed the car and drove on top of the vehicle trapping all four rear passengers and the adult female driver. A male front seat passenger was able to exit the vehicle with assistance and was moved to Medic 13 for treatment of his injuries.
The car suffered massive damage. Firefighter-paramedics used Holmatro rescue tools to gain access to the female driver. She was unconscious and suffered multiple traumatic injuries. Crews used chainsaws to remove several large pine trees that had been knocked down. Multiple hydraulic tools, including spreaders, cutters, and rams were used during the extrication. Once the trees were removed, chains were rigged between hydraulic spreaders to two large pine trees and then to portions of the car to pull the dash forward to free the driver.
Three additional Fire-Rescue ambulances and the LifeNet 4 medical helicopter were assigned to the incident. LifeNet landed at the scene on I-95 just south of the accident. When the driver was freed, she was quickly treated in Medic 26, then flown in critical condition to the trauma center at Trident Medical in Summerville. The male passenger was transported by Fire-Rescue to Colleton Medical Center, but later was transferred to the trauma center at Trident Medical. The truck driver was also transported to Colleton Medical Center for non-life threatening injuries.
The Coroner’s Office and the SC Highway Patrol MAIT Team responded to the scene. Once their investigations were completed, firefighter-paramedics extricated the remaining four victims. Two wreckers pulled the truck off of the car to allow firefighters access to the vehicle. Three children and one adult female in the back seat were deceased. The Coroner’s Office transported the bodies. SC Transport Police and the Sheriff’s Office also assisted. Fire Rescue units were on the scene for five and half hours. Traffic was down to one lane during the incident and backed up for five miles.
Engine 1, Engine 26, Rescue 1, Medic 1, Medic 13, Medic 19, Medic 26, Battalion 1, Car 12 and Car 105 responded. Deputy Chief David Greene served as Incident Commander.
Barry W. McRoy, Fire Chief, Colleton County Fire-Rescue
Two adults were severely injured and three children were transported following a single-vehicle, high speed MVC in the 400 block of Bent Gate Lane Friday evening 15-July. At approximately 19:00, an eastbound car lost control on the rural dirt road, crossed a ditch and began to flip over. The car struck a large pine tree roof first, causing extensive damage to the Ford Escape. The roof over the front seats was pushed almost to the floor trapping both front seat occupants. Three children in the back seat were able to crawl out of the damaged car.
Barry W. McRoy photo
Colleton County (SC) Firefighter-Paramedics arrived to find the three children ambulatory at the scene. The two adults were heavily entrapped in the wreckage. Their legs were pinned under the dash, while their upper bodies had been pushed in the back seats after breaking the backs of the front seats. It was miraculous that they survived the collision.
Crews stabilized the vehicle and began treating both patients inside the damaged car. IVs and pain management were administered. Due to an extended extrication, two medical helicopters were requested and landed in a field off of the 6800 block of Sunrise Road near Fire Station 17, approximately one mile from the scene. Engine 7 coordinated the landing zone. Crews treated the three children for non-life threatening traumatic injuries. Holmatro Rescue tools were utilized to remove the roof, however saws and a mini cutter had to be used near the patients on the passenger side due to the crushed vehicle collapsing in on the patients.
Barry W. McRoy photo
Cribbing was inserted between the roof, “A” & “B” posts and doors to prevent the metal from pressing in on the patients. The first patient was extricated after 38 minutes. Firefighters had to displace the dash to free the second patient’s legs. The second patient was extricated in 63 minutes. Both were transported by Fire-Rescue ambulance to the landing zone, then flown by LifeNet 3 and LifeNet 4 to the trauma center at MUSC in Charleston. The children were transported by Fire-Rescue Medic 18 to Colleton Medical Center in Walterboro and released later in the evening. The SC Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.
Barry W. McRoy photo
Barry W. McRoy photo
Engine 7, Engine 17. Engine 26, Rescue 1, Medic 18, Medic 26, Battalion 1, and Car 12 responded. Battalion Chief Scott O’Quinn served as Incident Commander.
Barry W. McRoy, Fire Chief, Colleton County Fire-Rescue
A Walterboro (SC) man died from injuries he received in a single car, high speed crash on I-95 Friday afternoon (2/19/16) at 17:49. The female driver suffered multiple injuries and was flown by helicopter to the trauma center at MUSC in Charleston, SC. Multiple callers to 9-1-1 reported the car left the roadway and rolled over multiple times before striking several trees. The Jeep Cherokee suffered heavy damage in the collision trapping both occupants. Colleton County (SC) Firefighter-Paramedics arrived to find the car upright in the median against two large trees. The female driver was conscious. The male occupant had no signs of life.
Crews used Holmatro Rescue Tools to remove the driver’s door and displace some debris to free the woman. A medical helicopter was placed on standby at Colleton Medical Center (CMC). Once the extrication was completed, the woman was treated at the scene, then transported in Fire-Rescue Medic 13 to meet with LifeNet 4 at CMC. The male was extricated and then transported from the scene by the Coroner’s Office after they completed their investigation. The SC Highway Patrol is investigating the accident.
Engine 13, Engine 27, Medic 1, Medic 13, Rescue 1, Battalion 1, Car 107 and Car 109 responded. Battalion Chief Dan Barb served as Incident Commander.
Barry W. McRoy, Fire Chief, Colleton County Fire-Rescue
A 63-year-old Islandton man was severely injured in a single-car, high speed MVC in the 1200 block of Ashton Road in western Colleton County (SC) Saturday evening 13-February. At 20:53, a Station 15 firefighter radioed in to dispatch that a vehicle had struck a tree and the driver was trapped. The northbound Ford Escape failed to negotiate a curve and ran head-on into a large pine tree in front of the firefighter’s residence. He began rendering aid until Colleton County Fire-Rescue units arrived.
The driver was pinned in the wreckage between the dashboard, steering wheel, and driver’s seat, as well as his legs when the floor buckled. The passenger side dash was pushed into the front passenger seat, displacing the seat. Crews began treating the man during the extrication which lasted approximately 20 minutes. Firefighters used Holmatro rescue tools to remove the driver’s rear door and “B” post, then displace the dash to extricate the man. He was transported from the scene in Fire-Rescue Medic 13 to a nearby field, transferred to LifeNet 4 and flown to the Trauma Center at MUSC in Charleston. Traffic on Ashton Road near Gibson was blocked for 1-1/2 hours. The SC Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.
Engine 15, Tender 15, Rescue 1, Medic 13, Medic 26, Battalion 1 and Car 12 responded. Captain Matthew Owens Williams, Jr. served as Incident Commander.
Barry W. McRoy, Fire Chief, Colleton County Fire-Rescue
A 25 yr. old woman suffered multiple traumatic injuries from a single-car crash in the 1000 block of Industrial Road north of Walterboro (SC) Friday evening 05-February. Colleton County (SC) Fire-Rescue was notified of the accident at 23:10 after a witness advised 9-1-1 a car had left the roadway and struck a tree.
Engine 19 and Medic 19, stationed two blocks away, arrived two minutes later to find a 2016 Nissan with massive damage and in several pieces on an embankment. Firefighter-Paramedics found the driver still alive and trapped in the wreckage. They requested a heavy rescue, then placed a medical helicopter on standby. Crews began treating the woman and started the extrication with Holmatro Rescue Tools carried on Engine 19. Treatment included spinal immobilization and multiple IVs.
After Rescue 1 arrived, additional hydraulic rescue tools were deployed to displace the dash. Engine 19’s personnel had already removed the remainder of the driver’s side of the car and the roof. The rear of the car was separated and a portion of the roof had been sheared off. The car had been traveling at a high rate of speed when it left the roadway, drove up an embankment, and struck a driveway. The car became airborne, clearing the driveway, then struck five trees, uprooting one small oak. The extrication took approximately 20 minutes.
Once freed, the patient was rapidly transported by Medic 19 to the helipad at Colleton Medical Center to meet with LifeNet 4 stationed there. The patient was flown to the trauma center at MUSC in Charleston. The Sheriff’s Office assisted at the scene and SC Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.
Engine 19, Medic 19, Rescue 1, Battalion 1 and Car 12 responded. Battalion Chief Brent Dalton served as Incident Commander.
Barry W. McRoy, Fire Chief, Colleton County Fire-Rescue
By the grace of God, a 28 year-old woman miraculously survived a high speed MVC in the 6800 block of Sidneys Road Saturday morning 21-November. At 01:28 Colleton County (SC) Fire-Rescue units were dispatched to the vicinity after a residence called 9-1-1 advising he was awakened by a loud crash and could hear a car horn.
The accident occurred on a rural secondary road approximately nine miles north of Walterboro, SC. Firefighter-Paramedics arrived to find a single-car off of the roadway with massive damage. The Ford Contour was separated into two pieces. The female driver was conscious and still belted in the driver’s seat, the only intact place in the small car. A bystander was comforting her. Crews quickly determined she was suffering from multiple traumatic injuries and requested a medical helicopter to respond. The patient’s legs were trapped in the wreckage, but with most of the vehicle gone, crews were able to manipulate the seat to extricate the woman without the use of hydraulic tools.
A landing zone was established in a field near the intersection of Sidneys Road and Round O Road, ½ mile north of the scene. LifeNet 4 responded to the location and the patient was transferred to the flight crew without incident, then flown to the Trauma Center at the SC Medical University in Charleston.
The car had been traveling north on Sidneys Road when it left the roadway in a curve and struck a tree. The driver stated she fell asleep. The SC Highway Patrol is investigating the accident.
Engine 19, Medic 19, Rescue 1, Battalion 1, Car 109, and Car 118 responded. Battalion Chief Ben Heape served as Incident Commander.
Barry W. McRoy, Fire Chief, Colleton County Fire-Rescue
Four people were injured, one critically, following a two car collision in the 800 block of Bells Hwy just east of Robertson Blvd in the City of Walterboro (SC). At 15:42, a car pulled out of Briarwood Road into the path of an eastbound pickup truck. The truck collided with the car in the driver’s door. Both vehicles received heavy damage and blocked Bells Hwy.
Colleton County (SC) Fire-Rescue Medic 26 arrived to find four patients and the critically injured driver of the passenger car. The car had over two and half feet of intrusion into the passenger compartment. Two additional ambulances were requested and a medical helicopter was dispatched to Colleton Medical Center (CMC). Firefighter-Paramedics treated all patients at the scene prior to transport.
The driver of the car was quickly immobilized and transported to the helipad at CMC. LifeNet 3 from Orangeburg met Medic 26, then flew the man to the trauma center at MUSC in Charleston. A female passenger in the car suffered non-life threatening, multi-traumatic injuries. She and a passenger in the pickup truck were transported to CMC. The driver of the pickup truck denied ambulance transportation to the hospital. Bells Highway in the area of the accident was closed for about an hour. The Walterboro Police Dept is investigating the crash.
Colleton County Fire-Rescue Medic 1, Medic 19, Medic 26, Battalion 1 and Car 12 responded. Walterboro City Engines 1, 2 and 3 and Walterboro Police also responded. Colleton Battalion Chief Ben Heape served as incident commander.
Barry W. McRoy, Fire Chief, Colleton County Fire-Rescue
