Pedestrian Killed in Tragic Crash in Newberry County, South Carolina (SC)

NEWBERRY COUNTY, SC- The newberryobserver.com writes that a man is facing charges following a deadly pedestrian crash that took place this week in South Carolina. The reports indicate that the 38-year-old driver fled the scene of the incident, leaving the victim dead or dying on the roadway.*

The crash occurred in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 26, just two miles from Newberry in the early morning. The suspect was traveling in a 2013 Peterbilt semi-truck in the right lane of the interstate. The victim's 2016 Dodge Ram 3500, which had been towing a trailer, was parked legally in an emergency lane. The suspect drove the semi into the emergency lane, where he collided with the Dodge and the victim, who was outside of his vehicle before leaving the scene. The Newberry County Coroner released the identity of the victim, who was a seventeen-year-old boy from Inman. 

Police charged the suspect with fleeing the scene of a crash, driving too fast for road conditions, and for driving under suspension. He is currently being held at the Newberry County Detention Center, where he has not yet been issued a bond. 

According to the AAA, South Carolina is in the top ten when it comes to states with the highest numbers of fatal hit-and-runs. The state comes in ninth, with New Mexico taking the number one spot. Pedestrians are the most likely victims in these incidents, and for about a decade, one in five fatal pedestrian crashes involved a driver who then fled the site of the collision. The most recent year included in the AAA report was 2016. During that year, 2,049 people lost their lives in hit-and-run crashes. 

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Sources:

https://www.newberryobserver.com/news/31475/man-charged-following-pedestrian-death-2

https://www.cars.com/articles/hit-and-run-deaths-are-way-up-how-dangerous-is-your-state-1420699813513/