Coroner: Sunlight may have led to fatal wreck on Interstate 85 in Anderson County
Mike Ellis
Semi-trucks quickly applied brakes as they crested over a hill on Interstate 85 this morning, leading to a fatal wreck, Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore said.
He said two 18-wheelers rapidly braked, another two 18-wheelers behind them did the same and a pickup truck and a sports utility vehicle slammed into the second set of semis. The initial semi-trucks were not hit and left, possibly not realizing what had happened, Shore said.
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The pickup truck driver died in the wreck and a teenager in the SUV was taken by medical helicopter to Greenville Memorial Hospital with serious and life-threatening injuries, Shore said.
The teen's father was not seriously injured, and the semi-truck drivers were not injured, he said.
According to the South Carolina Department of Transportation, traffic started to flow again after several hours of detours and blockages.
According to the South Carolina Highway Patrol, the wreck happened around 7:26 a.m.
The pickup truck driver, a 50-year-old from Lavonia, Georgia, died in the wreck, said Trooper Joe Hovis of the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
We will update this story with more details as they become available.
