Fatal crash renews call to cut trees along I-95
Another fatal crash on Interstate 95 near the Georgia state line has prompted renewed calls for cutting trees in the highway’s median.
The (Hilton Head) Island Packet reported that 75-year-old James Matthew Eddins of Moncure, N.C., died Monday when his tractor-trailer swerved, hit several tees and ended up in a canal about 13 miles north of the state line.
The Jasper County coroner said a medical condition caused the crash. But Hardeeville Police Chief Sam Woodward wonders whether hitting the trees prevented the driver from being saved.
There have been 16 deaths from tree-related accidents on I-95 in Jasper County in the past five years.
The South Carolina Department of Transportation is studying the area for improvements, such as cutting trees and adding cable barriers. But money for the project won’t be available until 2017.
The DOT is currently finishing up a project to cut trees in the median and add cable barriers to a dangerous stretch of I-26 from near I-95 east to Summerville.
All trees are being removed from the median and a cable barrier is being installed between the travel lanes. There is 25 feet of land from the travel lanes to where the trees stood. The improvements give motorists 46 feet to the guard rail.
The idea is to reduce fatalities caused by motorists running off the road.
Between January of 2007 and November 2011 there were almost 2,000 crashes on the section of interstate causing 44 deaths and 709 injuries.
This story was originally published September 15, 2015 at 10:22 PM with the headline "Fatal crash renews call to cut trees along I-95."