Truck Strikes and Kills Pedestrian in Tragic Hit-and-Run Crash in Newberry, South Carolina (SC)
NEWBERRY, SC- Foxcarolina.com writes that a driver operating a tractor-trailer fled the scene of a deadly crash that occurred this week close to Newberry. The incident took place in the early morning on Interstate 26 East.*
Reports indicate that a pickup truck was pulled to the roadside where it was parked in an emergency lane. The driver of the vehicle was trying to perform maintenance on it when a semi-truck veered into the emergency lane and struck the person and the pickup truck. The pedestrian suffered fatal injuries in the collision. The driver, identified as a 28-year-old man from Mount Pleasant, was later identified and located. Police filed charges against the man for driving too fast for road conditions, driving on a suspended license, and leaving the scene of a deadly crash.
The AAA carried out an investigation into hit-and-run crashes and learned that drivers who flee the scene of a crash are most often young men who have prior DWI charges or license suspensions. Research has indicated that the chances of a hit-and-run driver having been drunk are about two to nine times higher than the chances of a driver who stayed at a crash scene having been under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Of course, impaired motorists may be more inclined to want to leave because they know they will be facing serious legal consequences if they stay at the scene. Additionally, these drivers are more likely to leave because the alcohol or drugs in their system cause them to be less inhibited.
While hit-and-run crashes have been on the rise, states have struggled to find the best way to prevent these tragic incidents. Harsher penalties do not seem to be effective.
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Sources:
https://www.foxcarolina.com/news/troopers-truck-driver-arrested-after-pedestrian-was-hit-and-killed-on-i-26/article_c6d29b38-75ea-11ea-a009-93803ec63995.html
https://www.newberryobserver.com/news/31450/man-charged-following-pedestrian-death
https://aaafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/18-0058_Hit-and-Run-Brief_FINALv2.pdf