Hit-and-Run Driver Kills One in Tragic Horry County Crash

HORRY COUNTY, SC - Wbtw.com writes that a crash occurred in Horry County that killed one person this week. The victim was identified as a 49-year-old woman from Loris.*

The incident happened at the intersection of Mount Olive Church Road and Green Sea Road in the late evening. The woman was a pedestrian at the time of the crash. Reports indicate that she died at the scene. The driver who struck the woman fled and police are now searching for any information regarding the suspect or the vehicle involved in the tragic collision. 

Hit-and-run crash deaths are increasing nationally. The AAA states that the number of these incidents rose by an average of 7.2 percent annually between 2009 and 2016. The victims are often pedestrians or bicyclists. In fact, about 65 percent of the people killed in hit-and-run accidents were biking or walking at the time of the crash. 

Nationally, only about 50 percent of hit-and-run drivers are ever identified. As such, developing a profile of such offenders is difficult and is based only on limited data. However, drivers are more likely to be intoxicated at the time of the crash, and often have a history of previous drunk driving offenses. 

When a person flees the scene, the motivation is often to avoid the legal consequences of striking a person or vehicle. In the case of drunk drivers, the incentive to leave the scene is higher because they face harsher penalties due to the fact that they were impaired at the time of the crash. These motorists may also be more inclined to leave as the impairment has impacted their inhibitions.

Efforts to prevent hit-and-run crashes frequently involved harsher penalties for drivers who are apprehended. Now some states are also working on increasing their ability to locate and identify these drivers. 

Accident News is a safety and education initiative from Montlick & Associates, designed to help people better understand and thereby avoid common accident causes.  To learn more about our injury prevention programs, including iridesafe.com - click here. We hope you are never in an accident, but if you or a family member are injured, call Montlick & Associates 24/7 for your free consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333) or use our live chat at Montlick.com.

Sources:

https://www.wbtw.com/local-news/one-dead-in-horry-county-crash/

https://aaafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/18-0058_Hit-and-Run-Brief_FINALv2.pdf