Tractor trailers crash head-on in fatal, multi-vehicle wreck on interstate, SC cops say
One driver was killed Wednesday night and two others were hospitalized following a crash that involved two tractor trailers and an SUV on Interstate 85, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
The multi-vehicle collision happened at about 7 p.m. in Cherokee County, said Master Trooper Brandon Bolt.
A Volvo tractor trailer was driving south on I-85, and at the 96 mile marker it ran off the right side of the road, hitting a guard rail and the median, according to Bolt. The Volvo continued south on the northbound side of I-85, where it sideswiped a 2021 Nissan SUV before crashing head-on with a Freightliner tractor trailer, Bolt said.
The SUV driver died, while both tractor trailer drivers were hurt and taken to an area hospital, according to Bolt. Further information on the surviving drivers’ conditions was not available.
The Cherokee County Coroner’s Office said 73-year-old Greenville resident Donald Charles Harwood was the SUV driver who died at the scene, WYFF reported.
The coroner said the wreck occurred in a construction zone, calling it “an ill-fated construction nightmare,” WSPA reported.
Bolt said the drivers were the only people in the respective vehicles, and no other injuries were reported.
There was no word if any of the drivers were wearing seat belts.
Information about what caused the Volvo tractor trailer to veer off I-85 was not available, but the crash continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol.
Through Sunday, 468 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2024, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Last year, 1,030 people died in crashes in South Carolina, DPS reported.
At least 10 people have died in Cherokee County crashes in 2024, according to DPS data.
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