Charleston Personal Injury Lawyer - Automobile Accidents

Charleston Man Dies In Car Crash

Chrissie Cole — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 15:13:00 GMT

A Charleston man lost his life on Friday night when he was thrown from his vehicle.

The car crash happened on Ashley Crossing Lane. According to Highway Patrol officials, the driver, 21, was traveling eastbound when he veered off the road and overturned hitting a tree.

Upon arriving at MUSC, the man succumbed to his injuries, according to the coroner.

His passenger, 22, was also taken to MUSC where he is listed in good condition.

For more information on car accidents, visit IB’s Auto Accident Help Center where you can find information about staying safe and avoiding accidents, what to do if you are in an accident and more.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

32 Pre-Schoolers Suffer Minor Injuries in School Bus Crash

Amy Rothschild — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 12:16:57 GMT

Thirty-two students at Harleyville-Ridgeville Elementary School, were headed to see "The Wiz" at Charleston Southern University on Thursday, March 6, 2008, when Dorchester District 4 school bus in which they were riding was involved in a head-on collision. On U.S. Highway 78 near U.S. Highway 178, the school bus collided with a sports utility vehicle driven by a county employee, Joe Simmons, superintendent for public works in the solid waste division. The accident occurred when Mr. Simmons, who was driving a Blazer, crossed the median and sideswiped a Mitsubishi. Mr. Simmons continued driving and then struck the bus.

Mr. Simmons was hospitalized. The driver of the Mitsubishi and her daugther were also taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Fortunately, the children only suffered minor injuries, the worst being bumps and bruises, but were all taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure. There were no seatbelts on the school bus.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Amy Rothschild

Woman Killed on I-26 Near Charleston, South Carolina

Amy Rothschild — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 08:46:35 GMT

The South Carolina Highway Patrol reported that a Syvlia Kassandra Floyd, a 26-year-old woman from Olanta, South Carolina died after being hit by a car on Interstate 26 between Ridgeville and Harleyville. Apparently, Ms. Floyd's car had broken down in the right-hand lane of I-26 and she was trying to flad down traffic to let others know that the her disabled vehicle was in this lane of traffic on I-26.

Ms. Floyd was hit by a 1997 Ford Explorer driven by Sandra Childs of Alexandria, Virginia. The accident is still under investigation.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Amy Rothschild

Fiery Fatal Crash Kills Three in Mullins, South Carolina

Amy Rothschild — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 09:27:35 GMT

On Monday, November 26, 2007, around 4:20 a.m., three men were driving east in a Jeep Liberty near Mullins, South Carolina, when it drove off the road and then caught fire. All three men died in the fiery crash. The men were so badly burned, they will not be able to be identified until autopsies have been performed although it is thought that they were all from Mullins, South Carolina. The Marion County Coroner is sending the bodies along with dental records to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina. Autopsies are scheduled to be preformed today.

The vehicle belonged to someone else, but had not been reported stolen. The Marion County Sheriff believes that there may have beensome agreement for the men to borrow the car although this has not been established.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Amy Rothschild

Jury Awards Almost $11 Million in Railroad Death

Amy Rothschild — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 14:17:21 GMT

After a 2 1/2 week trial, a jury in Jefferson County, Texas awarded around $10.9 million to the family of a woman killed when her truck was hit by a train at a Louisiana railroad crossing. The money will be used to help the family take care of the woman's young daughter who was paralyzed from the chest down as a result of the crash.

In July 2005, the decedent was traveling in a truck with her 4-year-old daughter when she stopped at a stop sign in front of a railroad crossing in Louisiana. The crossing did not have automatic gates or lights. As the decedent pulled across the tracks, she was hit by a Union Pacific train.

Lawyers for the family said that the jury put 65 percent of the blame on Union Pacific, 15 percent of the blame on the decedent and 20 percent blame on the state of Louisiana.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Airline, Cruise, Bus, and Other Mass Transit.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Amy Rothschild

Two Die When Ford Explorer SUV Rolls off I-526 Bridge in Charleston, SC

Amy Rothschild — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 09:43:51 GMT

On Friday, September 28, 2007, a driver and passenger were killed around 10:30 a.m. when the SUV they were in plunged off a bridge along I-526 into the mud below. One was pronounced dead at the scene and the other was taken by the United States Coast Guard helicopter to the Medical University of South Carolina but was determined to be dead upon arrival. Both individuals were belted.

A witness told the Berkeley County coronor that a tire on the Ford Explorer went flat, the driver lost control, flipped over several times and went over the railing, landing driver's side down.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Amy Rothschild

Terrible Motor Vehicle Accident Involving a Tractor-Trailer In Colleton County in South Carolina Sends Victim to Trauma Center

Amy Rothschild — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 09:38:25 GMT

On August 19, 2007, the Colleton County Fire-Rescue in South Carolina responded to a two-vehicle accident on I-95 at the 59-mile marker. A northbound tractor-trailer, which was traveling at a high rate of speed through a work zone, struck a painting truck in the rear end. This was after the same tractor trailer nearly sideswiped a State Trooper. Despite being equipped with an impact cusion, the painting truck which was moving at a slow rate of speed, was twisted in half, flipped over, and landed on the right shoulder trapping the driver upside down in the vehicle.

The tractor-trailer burst into flames and a large amount of diesel fuel was spilled on the highway. The tractor-trailer crashed into a wooded area just off the shoulder of the impact site. The scene of the accident was scattered with burning debris, stopping all northbound traffic for five hours. At first, it was thought that the tractor-trailer was carrying hazardous materials but then it was determined that it was only carrying avocados.

Both paramedics and firefighters worked hard to remove the driver of the paint truck. The driver of the paint truck suffered multiple bone fractures and possible internal injuries. After completing the removal of the driver of the paint truck which took forty-five (45) minutes, he was then flown by helicopter to the Trauma Center of the Medical University of South Carolina.

The tractor-trailer driver was not hurt. It was later determined that the tractor-trailer driver had fallen asleep at the wheel of the rig.

For more information on this subject matter, please refer to the section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Amy Rothschild

S.C. Deputy Lucky to Be Alive After Almost Being Hit By Drunk Driver from North Charleston, SC

Amy Rothschild — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 09:37:50 GMT

A deputy in Newberry, South Carolina, was assisting with a fatal multiple car accident on I-26, that resulted in the death of an eleven year old boy. Deputy Chris Keller responded to the scene of the fatal car accident in order to direct traffic around the accident locale. Deputy Keller was directing traffic when he was approached by an oncoming vehicle at which time he was forced to jump out of the way. The driver hit Deputy Keller's patrol vehicle. Deputy Keller wasn't hurt but noticed the man's speech was slurred. The S.C. Highway Patrol arrested the driver of the oncoming vehicle, thirty-eight (38) year old Billy Jones of North Charleston, SC for driving under the influence. Deputy Keller was not hurt but his vehicle was damaged.

For more information on this subject matter, please refer to the section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Amy Rothschild

Five Killed and Others Injured in Violent Multi-Vehicle Car Accident in Charleston, SC

Amy Rothschild — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 17:15:36 GMT

On Friday, July 13, 2007, around rush hour traffic, there was a terrible car accident on the northbound lanes of Interstate 526 or the Mark Clark Expressway at the North Rhett on-ramp. A total of eight vehicles were involved. All the lanes on that portion of Interstate 526 were closed for nearly 10 hours after the accident.

While the exact cause of the accident may not be known for weeks, it appears that an 18-wheeler tractor trailer collided with the rear of a vehicle merging onto Interstate 526 at the North Rhett Avenue Ramp. The car that was rear-ended and a van went under the empty refrigerated Ryder truck. Another car was trapped between the truck and a wall that runs along the entrance ramp. The Ryder truck burst into flames which then spread to the van and two cars. The heat from the fire was so intense that it a nearby light pole blackened and buckled.

The five occupants of the truck, van and two cars died as a result of the incident. It wasn't immediately clear as to whether the deceased victimes died as a result of the impact or the fiery blaze, but the fire made it difficult for these victims to be identified. It was later determined that four of the five victims died from smoke inhalation and the fifth victim died from blunt force trauma.

Four other vehicles became involved in the chain reaction. The occupants of these four vehicles were taken to the Medical University of South Carolina for treatment. As of Sunday, July 15, 2007, two of the four occupants that were taken to the hospital for treatment had been released.

Again, it could be weeks before the exact cause of the accident is determined.

For more information on this subject matter please refer to the section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Amy Rothschild

The Black Box - "Big Brother" Capturing Car Accident Information

Amy Rothschild — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 10:00:36 GMT

For many years now, automobile manufacturers have been installing a device commonly known as a "black box" into many of their vehicles. The black boxes were initially installed with the stated purpose of gathering data to optimize vehicle performance but now are more commonly used for the purpose of gathering information post-accident. Many consumer advocate groups are concerned about the use of the information for this latter purpose.

Black boxes are frequently downloaded after an accident, and with advanced technology, can reveal engine and vehicle speeds, air-bag deployment, seat-belt use, and the state of the brakes before and during a crash. Insurance companies and automobile manufacturers often use this information against a driver to establish driver fault (e.g., the driver was speeding before the accident, the driver failed to properly apply his brakes) when a driver makes a claim for personal injuries. Many consumer advocates including the American Civil Liberties Union object to the usage of the information stored on black boxes for this purpose stating that it violates a vehicle owner's privacy and also because many vehicle owner's are not even aware that their vehicles are equipped with the device. Unfortunately, most courts will order that it be provided where there is litigation involved.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Amy Rothschild