PIEDMONT, SC – An earlier collision restricted traffic lanes and likely led to a truck accident Monday, July 28, on a highway in Anderson County, South Carolina. The truck accident occurred on Interstate 85 near the city of Piedmont and would involve several vehicles and send nine people to the hospital. The accident area is in the far northwest corner of the state about 114 miles southwest of Charlotte, North Carolina and about 90 miles northeast of Athens, Georgia.
Shortly before noon on Monday southbound traffic on Interstate 85 in Anderson County, SC was crawling due to a single vehicle collision that had occurred near mile marker 31. A pickup truck had crashed into a concrete wall along the highway and authorities were restricting traffic in the area around the collision.
A few minutes later 55 year old truck driver Ronny Felton of Alexis, North Carolina came upon the slow moving traffic near mile marker 32. Mr. Felton was driving a 1998 semi tractor trailer truck. According to authorities with the South Carolina Highway Patrol the semi truck was traveling too fast when it encountered the line of slow moving traffic.
The tractor trailer slammed into two cars and a pickup truck before it went off the roadway, crashed into the guardrail and drove into the wooded area along the interstate where the tractor trailer finally came to a stop. The impact of the truck accident pulled the passenger side fuel tank off the 18 wheeler rig and it landed next to the trailer’s rear wheels.
Emergency personnel from Piedmont, Wren, and Anderson County responded to the scene of the truck accident. One of the cars hit by the semi, a 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix, had two occupants. The 31 year old driver, Amy Garland of Piedmont, was thrown from the car during the accident and she along with her passenger, a minor child, were taken to Greenville Hospital.
The second car, a 2006 Chrysler, was driven by 27 year old Jennifer Bell who had three passengers including two children. All four occupants were treated and stabilized at the scene of the truck accident before being transported to Greenville Hospital.
The pickup, a 2007 Dodge crew cab work truck, was driven by Tony Alfred of Carlton, Georgia. Mr. Alfred and his unidentified adult passenger both suffered injuries in the truck accident. The driver was taken to AnMed Medical Center and the passenger was transported to Greenville Hospital.
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The truck driver Mr. Felton also sustained injuries in the multi vehicle collision and was taken to Greenville Hospital. According to a spokesman, the victims had injuries ranging from moderate to serious but none were consider life threatening.
The truck accident slowed down the southbound lanes of the interstate even more while highway crews cleaned up spilled diesel fuel and the wreckage of the destroyed vehicles. A team of local firefighters had to use a heavy cable to pull the tractor trailer out of the woods, a job that would take several hours.
Authorities investigating the truck accident believe that the driver of the tractor trailer was going too fast for conditions. Skid marks on the roadway indicated that the truck driver attempted to slow or maneuver to avoid a collision and believe this may be why he went off the interstate.
No charges have been brought against the driver at this time and the truck accident remains under investigation.
Published by Atlanta truck accident lawyer Fried Goldberg, LLC, nationwide truck accident attorneys specializing in commercial truck injury law across the United States. For more information about South Carolina trucking laws, truck injury causes and victims rights, talk to our attorneys for a free initial consultation at 1.877.591.1801.