Truck driver killed in crash with disabled vehicle identified by Midlands coroner
One person was killed Tuesday morning after a pickup truck crashed into the back of a vehicle that was stopped on a Midlands road, the South Carolina Highway Patrol said.
James Edward Joe died at the scene, Sumter County Coroner Robbie Baker said.
The two-vehicle collision happened at about 6:30 a.m. on U.S. 378, near the intersection with Wise Drive, according to Master Trooper David Jones. That’s near Prisma Health Tuomey hospital in Sumter.
A 2006 GMC truck pulling a trailer was disabled in one of the westbound lanes on U.S. 378 when it was hit in the rear by a westbound 2008 Dodge pickup truck driven by the 63-year-old Sumter resident, Jones said.
The trailer had become disconnected from the GMC, Baker said.
Joe was not wearing a seat belt, according to Jones.
The occupants of the GMC were standing outside of the disabled vehicle when the collision occurred, Jones said.
No other injuries were reported by Highway Patrol.
An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.
Information on what caused the trailer to come loose from the GMC was not made available. There is no word on possible criminal charges, but the wreck is being investigated by Highway Patrol and the coroner’s office.
This was the first fatal collision in Sumter County this year, according to the South Carolina Department of Public Safety.
Through Monday afternoon, 88 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2021, DPS data shows. Of those, 66 of the victims had access to seat belts, but 33 were not wearing them, DPS reported.
Overall, 1,025 people died on South Carolina roads in 2020, DPS reported.
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This story was originally published February 9, 2021 at 11:14 AM.
