Massive pile-up on I-26 yesterday

[Turbo storm]

Did anyone see the pile-up on 26 yesterday between College Park Rd. and 17A? I would guess about 30 vehicles were involved. Chad Waltons mom was involved, but came out ok. Others were pretty crunched up.
By the way, Randy grabs the spotlight by getting his picture on the front page of Section B in the paper today. My hero!=D>

[MrDude_1]

just reading about it now....

link: http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/jul/07/chaos_on_freeway88379/

SUMMERVILLE — A 26-vehicle pileup during an afternoon thunderstorm Monday on Interstate 26 sent more than a dozen people to the hospital and clogged the highway in both directions for several hours.

Many of the patients were taken away on a Berkeley County EMS mass-casualty bus. Authorities said none of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening.


Wade Spees
The Post and Courier

A 26-vehicle pileup littered Interstate 26 between the College Park Road and Summerville 17-A exits about 5:30 p.m. Monday. According to South Carolina Highway Patrol Cpl. Paul Brouthers, thunderstorms came through the area and set off a chain reaction when some drivers slowed and others did not.
Rush-hour traffic was at a standstill for so long that some people shut off their cars and fell asleep or got out and walked around.

Motorists desperate to get off the highway drove across ditches and made paths through the woods to a frontage road. Several were stuck in the mud.

Mathew Profit, 55, of Summerville, was heading home for dinner and was scheduled to attend Bible study, but by 8 p.m. he had been stuck on the interstate for more than two hours. He stood outside his car with several other men, watching as people tried to pull vehicles out of the mud.

He called his wife to let her know he'd be late.

"I just told her to keep the food warm; it might be awhile," he said.

As the rain pounded down about 5:20 p.m. near Summerville, some vehicles moving in the westbound lanes near exit 199 slowed down. Others did not, and it started a chain reaction, S.C. Highway Patrol Cpl. Paul Brouthers said.

Bob Mixter, Berkeley County EMS director, has pretty much seen it all, but not all at once, he said. He and at least a dozen other EMS workers arrived to find about 60 people had been involved in the crash. They ranged from 3-weeks-old to the elderly, he said.

There were cars, trucks, sport-utility vehicles and tractor-trailers everywhere, he said. Some were hit from the back. Some were flipped over or turned around, and some were down an embankment.


The Post and Courier
"An accident of this magnitude is rather unusual," he said.

Mixter said 14 people were injured and had to be taken to Trident Medical Center. Most injuries involved the neck and back. He said no one appeared to be seriously hurt.

"The size and the speed of the incident that occurred, to have no one seriously injured is a godsend," he made paths through the woods to a frontage road. Several were stuck in the mud.

Mathew Profit, 55, of Summerville, was heading home for dinner and was scheduled to attend Bible study, but by 8 p.m. he had been stuck on the interstate for more than two hours. He stood outside his car with several other men, watching as people tried to pull vehicles out of the mud.

He called his wife to let her know he'd be late.

"I just told her to keep the food warm; it might be awhile," he said.


Wade Spees
The Post and Courier

K.C. Kiker got caught in the traffic that was brought to a standstill Monday by a 26-vehicle pileup on Interstate 26.
As the rain pounded down about 5:20 p.m. near Summerville, some vehicles moving in the westbound lanes near exit 199 slowed down. Others did not, and it started a chain reaction, S.C. Highway Patrol Cpl. Paul Brouthers said.

Bob Mixter, Berkeley County EMS director, has pretty much seen it all, but not all at once, he said. He and at least a dozen other EMS workers arrived to find about 60 people had been involved in the crash. They ranged from 3-weeks-old to the elderly, he said.

There were cars, trucks, sport-utility vehicles and tractor-trailers everywhere, he said. Some were hit from the back. Some were flipped over or turned around, and some were down an embankment.

"An accident of this magnitude is rather unusual," he said.

Mixter said 14 people were injured and had to be taken to Trident Medical Center. Most injuries involved the neck and back. He said no one appeared to be seriously hurt.

"The size and the speed of the incident that occurred, to have no one seriously injured is a godsend," he said.

Another accident in the same vicinity injured two people.

The hospital was treating 16 patients late Monday. All were in stable condition, said Melanie Williams, assistant vice president of marketing for Trident Health System.

By 9 p.m., the accident scene mostly was cleared away, and traffic was moving again. Troopers were investigating whether anyone would be charged.

Reach Nadine Parks at 937-5573 or nparks@postandcourier.com.



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[Shakinlaw]

I work near dwntown & this is the exact reason why i'm trying my best to stay away from s'ville in my search to move. Traffic absolutely sucks.

[Scootimus]

I don't think by staying away from S'ville you will avoid the problem, this is SC remember.

It just aggravates that the one other person on this planet that knows how to drive, other than myself, is never on the road the same time I am.

[t-cell]

just reading about it now....

link: http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/jul/07/chaos_on_freeway88379/



I like the picture with the firefighter leaning up against the car on the right while the lady sets trapped in the white car talking on the cell phone.

Jason - sends

[Professor Fate]

"thunderstorms came through the area and set off a chain reaction " Group retard meeting. Like dumwinnie always said. Instant SC retard...just add water.:lol:

[lilgene21]

I agree with Shakinlaw i moved from summerville to hanahan i work on rivers ave b4 it would take me bout 45min to an 1hr to get home now only 10min with no traffic and its almost the same dist

[slosir]

I like the picture with the firefighter leaning up against the car on the right while the lady sets trapped in the white car talking on the cell phone.

Jason - sends
that would be randy

[t-cell]

that would be randy

Nice -

[04ctd]

i took a nap & watched part of a movie.

walked back to rest area once.

guy beside me had a cooler full of water/sodas, gave me one.

most people think they are "invincible" in a car, that is they drive like idiots, they think it is just "bumper cars" out there.

they need to publish 10 pictures a day of that wreck on the front page.

why does the P&C only have 2 pictures of a ~30 car pile up?

[fasterthanyours]

He's talking about the guy on the right. Randy is in the safety vest with the Crowbar on the left.

[Chris]

slower traffic keep right....would solve damn near everything......

[Scootimus]

slower traffic keep right....would solve damn near everything......
Which way is right? :shrug:

[MrDude_1]

slower traffic keep right....would solve damn near everything......

that, and if they focused on writing tickets for tailgating like they write tickets for speeding.

those two alone would solve 90% of the problems. crazy part is, they're both easily enforced.

but really, only one rule is enforced.. dont speed.
you can cut across 3 lanes of traffic with no signal, in peoples braking space, but you better not be speeding while you do it.

[Professor Fate]

you can cut across 3 lanes of traffic with no signal, in peoples braking space, but you better not be speeding while you do it.
I've seen police do that shit. They are no better then everyday motorists.

[Mike]

I've seen police do that shit. They are worse then everyday motorists because they know they will get away with it.

There, fixed it for ya :rolleyes:

[04ctd]

http://www.live5news.com/global/story.asp?s=10651595
\

plenty o pics.

[rchecks]

Just glad I did not ride the bike that day. I could have been in the middle of all of that. Glad to see no other bikes were either, way to much mass carnage.

[Turbo storm]

He's talking about the guy on the right. Randy is in the safety vest with the Crowbar on the left.

Notice how he is holding the crowbar...look at my beautiful biceps!:lol:

[fasterthanyours]

Always striking a pose

[Professor Fate]

Thanks Mr.K. I was holding back a bit.:evillaugh:

[Professor Fate]

Notice how he is holding the crowbar...look at my beautiful biceps!:lol:
Did you ever stop to think maybe he was wanting to change flat tires. :lol:

[BJ]

If I had taken the bike to work, that's the way I would normally go home as well. Scary lol

[Shakinlaw]

I used to take that way from my 1st job to my 2nd at s&k by target. I was thinking if i'd had been in that mess i would've preferred it be on the bike so that i could find a way to lane-split traffic. Never thought about actually being PART of the mess. Would definitley be a scary thing.

[slosir]

He's talking about the guy on the right. Randy is in the safety vest with the Crowbar on the left.
oh, my bad, didn't see the other dude at the right

[fasterthanyours]

Me neither until you mentioned. Funny though he's just sitting there and she's on her phone likes it's normal to be in a metal sandwich.

I just talked to Randy about he said by the time the paper got there they had already sent off most of the serious patients and moved the majority of the vehicles. He said he sent 12 himself and handled the most serious case they had. Which was nothing more than whiplash and facial lacerations.

[Turbo speed]

42 cars 62 patients 3 simi's 1 go cart

there are pre tow trucks on my myspace page. I was working patients in the middle of that pack and got toned to go to the rear. on the way i whipped out my phone and just started snapping pics on the way. the crash was over 100yrds long and was from guard rail all the way to the bottom of the ditch. not 1 patient over a catagory 3. god was looking over that incodent. the VW beatle that flipped 5 times... she walked away! I got pics of that car and she should be in the mourge. The most sever patien was right next to chads moms car and she had minor lacerations to her face from glass and some whiplash issues. thats about it. crash happened between 4:30 to 5 and I was let go at 9pm+. No one that I spoke with knows what started it. the go cart was not harmed in this accident.

Edit: all members of our sister fire dept think chad is a dick..... i was shocked....

[Turbo speed]

OH that lady in the mustang, WHAT A BITCH! she was not harmed but as soon as we rolled on scene and pryed her door open she was asking "who do I sue?" she was out screeming at highway patroll and medial people. AS WE WERE TREATING PATIENTS! WTF?!?!?!? she was trying to figure out how it started. needed to know how she was going to get her money on. should have slammed the damn door and welded it shut.

[Mike]

Good work man :wtg:

[fasterthanyours]

:yeah:

[Turbo storm]

Edit: all members of our sister fire dept think chad is a dick..... i was shocked....

I'm shocked too.:shrug:

Chad is normally such an outgoing impressionable person.:lol:

Good job though Randy. When I rolled up on the incident, I was sure there were serious injuries. Glad to hear that everyone walked under their own power.

As for the lady in the car bitching...I've always wondered how the repair of vehicles would work out. I figure it will be an insurance company lawyer "Battle Royal"....kinda like the alley fight in the movie "Anchorman".
And prying the bitchy lady out...why didn't she just climb out the window? Or crawl across to the drivers side. Was she really that lazy?

[Professor Fate]

And prying the bitchy lady out...why didn't she just climb out the window? Or crawl across to the drivers side. Was she really that lazy?
theatrics

[fasterthanyours]

Looking good for the camera... Probably still in shock too.

Hell if I was in that shit I would have been sitting in my car upside down with my mom's lawyer on the phone. He's in the BofA building on Meeting. :D

[04ctd]

42 cars 62 patients 3 simi's 1 go cart

there are pre tow trucks on my myspace page. ....

shoot me a link to your myspace page...

my wife has a myspace page.

good job for all your work.

[fasterthanyours]

http://www.myspace.com/10speedrandy