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South Carolina woman killed in wrong-way car accident

On Behalf of | Aug 31, 2018 | Car Accidents |

A 23-year-old South Carolina woman was killed on the evening of August 21 in Greenville County when the vehicle she was traveling in was struck by a truck that had crossed the centerline. Media reports indicate that the 38-year-old Greenville man behind the wheel of the truck was taken into custody at the scene by South Carolina State Patrol troopers. He has been charged with driving without a valid driver’s license and driving too fast for the prevailing road conditions.

According to an SCHP report, the sequence of events began at about 6:30 p.m., when a Ford truck towing a trailer strayed into the path of oncoming traffic and sideswiped a Chevrolet SUV as it proceeded northbound on Fairview Road near Simpsonville. The truck is then said to have returned to the northbound lane before crossing the centerline again and striking a Nissan sedan that was traveling southbound.

The woman who was killed in the accident was sitting in the rear seat of the Nissan and died as the result of blunt force trauma to the chest and head, according to a coroner’s report. Initial reports claim that she was unrestrained at the time of the accident and was partially thrown from the vehicle. The woman was pronounced deceased at the scene. The occupants of the Ford truck and Chevrolet SUV are all said to have escaped the car accident without injury.

When presented with facts like these, experienced personal injury attorneys may study medial and coroner reports closely to determine whether their clients would have avoided injury if they had been wearing their seatbelts. Under South Carolina’s comparative negligence law, plaintiffs in car accident lawsuits who acted negligently may still recover damages as long as their negligence is not greater than that of the other parties involved. However, any damages that are recovered will be reduced according to their degree of fault.

Source: The Greenville News, Coroner identifies 23-year-old killed in Simpsonville crash, Anna Lee and LaFleur, August 22, 2018

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