By HEATHER RUPPE
Four people were injured in a three-vehicle car crash that occurred last week in a construction work zone on Augusta Highway.
According to Colleton County Fire-Rescue Chief Barry McRoy, the incident happened on August 16th on S.C. Highway 61 (Augusta Highway), just north of Byrd Farm Road. 911-calls made to the Colleton County Dispatch Center said that one car was on fire and that one person was not breathing.
Firefighter-paramedics who responded to the scene found two “heavily damaged vehicles” on the southbound side of the road and “one heavily damaged vehicle on the northbound side,” said McRoy.
“A road maintenance contractor was performing work on the northbound shoulder and a flagger had a white Chevrolet Impala and a Red Toyota RAV4 stopped in the southbound lane,” said McRoy.
“A southbound Nissan Altima traveling at a high rate of speed struck the Rav4, pushing it forward into the Impala. The Altima then slid into the northbound ditch and caught fire,” he said. “The road crew used a fire extinguisher to extinguish the fire.”
According to McRoy, one of the injured people in the Impala was an off duty EMT. “Despite being injured, he rendered aid to the other injured people,” he said. “The unrestrained driver of the Altima was not breathing and the driver of the Rav4 was trapped in her car with multiple injuries, including a head injury.”
All of the injured people were transported to area hospitals for treatment.
Augusta Highway was blocked due to the wreckage, and northbound traffic was diverted to Byrd Farm Road by the road construction crew, said McRoy.
