Driver disappears from truck wreck

Posted

A Mack log truck and a Kenworth flatbed tractor-trailer collided on Sunrise Road (S.C. Hwy. 217) in a fiery wreck near Yamacraw Drive on Tuesday Jan. 7 at 7:08 a.m. The southbound Kenworth crossed the center line and sideswiped the northbound log truck, causing heavy damage to both vehicles. The log truck drove off of the road into the ditch in an attempt to avoid the collision. Shortly after impact, the Kenworth, which came to rest upright in the northbound lane, caught fire. The collision ruptured the fuel tanks on the Kenworth, spreading diesel fuel around the scene. The truck was also equipped with large plastic storage tanks containing an unknown substance. First Fire-Rescue units on the scene encountered a large fire, as the Kenworth truck was fully involved and the diesel fuel was also on fire, as well as the roadway, both shoulders and woods on each side from ditch to ditch. The scene was also littered with debris from the collision. The log truck had recovered from entering the ditch and was back on the roadway. The driver of the log truck suffered non-life threatening traumatic injuries. The driver of the flatbed was nowhere to be found. Crews deployed two hand lines to combat the fire. It took them approximately 25 minutes to contain the blaze, including the truck, woods/grass fire and burning diesel fuel. Other crew members searched the woods on both sides of the accident using thermal imaging cameras in an attempt to located the driver of the Kenworth. Once the fire was extinguished, crews searched the remainder of the cab, but the driver was not still found. There was evidence at the scene of at least one vehicle passing the burning vehicle and the driver appears to have fled the scene. Sunrise Road was blocked for several hours while the S.C. Highway Patrol investigated the crash. SCDOT rerouted traffic. Anyone with information regarding the accident or the whereabouts of the Kenworth's driver is urged to contact the S.C. Highway Patrol at 843-953-6010 or 1-800-768-1580.