The Community Times Dispatch

6 lives claimed on Colleton highways within 3 days and devastating fires destroy homes
Four people died in a car accident on December 2 at 4:00pm, which led to southbound I-95 being shut down between exit 53 and 42 for about 4 hours. Three men, between the ages of 19 and 21, were pronounced dead at the scene but the 16 year old pregnant girl was flown to Columbia via helicopter. Colleton County paramedics confirmed that she had suffered multiple trauma injuries and severe burns.

The highway patrol reported that the victims were traveling in a 2002 Chevrolet pickup truck, towing a small utility trailer. The truck left the road at high speed and struck a tree, head-on.

Gordon Marsh, a truck driver who witnessed the incident stopped to pull the 16 year old girl out of the wreckage. The girl was 5 months pregnant. Both she and her baby were pronounced dead at the Richland Memorial Hospital in Columbia.

The three men were trapped in the truck and were unable to be rescued from the vehicle by Marsh and other bystanders who stopped to help. The car caught on fire as the truck driver was pulling the girl out. He was unable to reach the other victims by the time the fire started to spread and increase in intensity.

Richard Carter, Colleton County Coroner stated, “I was told who was sitting where in the vehicle by the parent of one of the alleged victims, John Connelly Sr., but we are unable to positively identify the bodies because they were burnt badly. We will identify the bodies using either dental records or DNA.”

When the fire fighters and paramedics arrived on the scene, the woods and truck were engulfed in flames. Within minutes, they had the fire under control. The crew had to use hydraulic rescue tools to extricate the three bodies from the charred remains of the truck. The victims were from Florida in the Fort Lauderdale area.

Truck Driver dies in Fatal Fire
On December 3 at 5:32 am, a tractor trailer traveling southbound on I95 at the 62 mile marker drove off the right shoulder, crossed a ditch, entered the woods and then caught fire. The driver was ejected from the crushed cab due to shifting load of the bundled lumber. He died on the scene.

The driver suffered multiple trauma injuries and was burned severely. A positive identification of the driver was unavailable but will be attained with the use of dental records.

When the Colleton County Fire-Rescue team arrived on the scene, the truck, trailer, load of lumber and about ? acres of nearby woods was on fire. Additional tankers carrying water needed to be called on scene to assist with eradicate the fire.

Woods Brothers Construction Company offered a track hoe to break the bundles of wood open to enable firefighters to totally distinguish the fire. The fire had completely ceased four hours after the incident occurred. The body of the driver was sent to the Medical University of South Carolina to perform the autopsy.

Woman Dies in Car Accident
Kimberly Elam, a thirty year old white female, was tragically killed in a car accident in the 8000 block on Bennett Point Road. Elam was driving east in a small SUV when she veered off the road and struck a tree.

The highway patrol confirmed that Elam was wearing a seatbelt, but it was on incorrectly and was not properly secured. She was moderately ejected from her SUV and pronounced dead at the scene. She suffered multiple severe head injuries, one of which was fatal.

Authorities responded to the scene after a bystander called 9-1-1.

Dog Rescues Owner in House Fire
On Sunday morning, a house fire was reported in the 300 block of Hamwalk Lane in Cottageville at 8:00am. An eighty-year old man was asleep in his home when he was awakened by his dog and was exposed to a bed of smoke.

His wooden house was completely aflame when the Colleton County Fire-Rescue team arrived. The fire had ceased only minutes after their arrival. The fire did not spread but the man had lost all of his valuables and property inside his home; the structure suffered extensive damages as well.

When questioned, the elderly man stated that he had a small fire in his fireplace before he went to sleep. He had intended to wake up and put more wood on the fire but instead he was awakened when his dog began barking at him.

He said that when he got up to inspect his house, he saw that it was engulfed in flames and he made it out just before the fire got to an uncontrollable point. He said that if his dog had not wakened him, he probably would have never made it out because he doesn’t have any smoke detectors.

There are no reported injuries that resulted from this fire.

House Fire in Ritter; No Injuries
An elderly woman called the authorities and reported that her house was on fire in Ritter on December 2. When she called, she stated that she was trapped in the house. The Colleton County Fire-Rescue team was on the scene in less than 10 minutes.

When they arrived on the scene, the home was visibly ablaze in the rear and suffered heavy smoke conditions from all sides of the residence. Two teams of paramedics perused the home in search of the woman, but she had managed to escape before they arrived and she went to a neighbor’s home. She was unharmed.

Officials speculate that the fire may have started in the first floor living room of the home, spread to the porch at the end of the home, and jumped to the second floor of the home from the porch. The house suffered severe heat, fire, and smoke damage.