One Dead in Tragic Three Car Crash on Calhoun Memorial Highway in Pickens County, South Carolina (SC)

PICKENS COUNTY, SC- Wspa.com writes that one person died in a crash involving three vehicles on Calhoun Memorial Highway. The collision occurred in Pickens County in the late evening when a 2006 Nissan Xterra was heading northbound in the southbound lanes.* 

A 2015 Kia Soul and a 2011 Toyota Prius were driving southbound, and when the Kia’s driver attempted to swerve to avoid a crash with the Nissan, it struck a guardrail instead. The Nissan then struck the Toyota head-on. The person driving the Toyota died in the wreck.

The other two drivers suffered injures and were transported to the hospital. The extent of their injuries is not known. 

No identities for the involved motorists have been reported at this time. 

Wrong-way crashes take place when a driver enters a divided road and travels against the proper flow of traffic. These crashes kill anywhere from 300 to 400 people in the United States every year. While that number is fairly low when compared to the total number of overall fatal crash victims, this is not because these crashes are not serious, but because they are thankfully extremely uncommon. 

Drivers who enter exit ramps have made a huge mistake and one that most attentive motorists would not make because road designers go to great lengths to prevent such crashes. 

The drivers who do cause wrong-way crashes are often under the influence of alcohol. In fact, one traffic study found that greater than half of the motorists who cause wrong-way collisions are either drunk or under the influence of drugs at the time. 

Head-on impacts are serious, even at lower speeds. At highway speeds, the results are typically devastating. Most of these crashes would not happen if drivers did not get behind the wheel drunk. 

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.wspa.com/news/accidents/1-killed-3-injured-in-3-vehicle-crash-in-pickens-co/

https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/intersection/other_topics/wwd/#:~:text=In%20the%20United%20States%2C%20WWD,related%20fatalities%20that%20occur%20annually.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25793548/#:~:text=Approximately%2058%25%20of%20wrong%2Dway,than%203%25%20had%20been%20drinking.

https://www.thecarcrashdetective.com/how-to-survive-a-head-on-collision-slow-down-to-below-43mph/#:~:text=To%20put%20it%20simply%2C%20if,no%20higher%20than%2043%20mph.