OCONEE COUNTY, S.C. — One person is dead after a crash on Tuesday morning near the Georgia state line.
The Oconee County, SC Coroner’s Office said one person is dead following a crash near the South Carolina and Georgia border on Tuesday morning, according to a report from WHNS in Greenville.
The South Carolina Highway Patrol stated that the crash occurred on I-85 near mile marker 2 in Oconee County at 6:05 a.m. after a 2016 Freightliner tractor-trailer hit a 2013 Honda sedan in the rear after the Honda slowed for construction traffic. The Honda then hit a 2019 Chevy pickup, which hit a 1998 Chevy pickup.
The tractor-trailer and the Honda traveled across the cable median barrier after the initial impact and hit a 2015 Chevy pickup on the southbound side of I-85, according to troopers.
The coroner said a man was found entrapped within the Honda. EMS provided life support measures after he was extricated, but he died at the scene at 7:10 a.m.
The coroner identified the victim as 34-year-old Rafael B. Veloz and gave his cause of death as blunt force chest trauma.
SCHP reports the driver of the 2019 Chevy pickup was injured and taken to Greenville Memorial Hospital. The driver of the 1998 Chevy pickup was taken to AnMed Hospital with injuries. The driver of the 2015 Chevy pickup was taken to the Oconee Memorial Hospital with injuries.
The tractor-trailer driver was not injured, troopers said.
Bruce Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has lived in three states including Arkansas, Missouri and Georgia. During his nearly 20-year career, Bruce has served as managing editor and sports editor for numerous publications. He and his wife, Dana, who is also a journalist, are based in Carrollton, Georgia.
Truth be known, I bet the Honda and Chevy drivers raced to get in front of the semi and then had to brake hard. The truck driver probably saw immediately what they were doing but couldn’t brake fast enough. It’s common for car drivers to do that to truck drivers in construction, but especially in the southern states. People have to realize that semi trucks CAN NOT STOP ON A DIME. Maybe, God willing, people will stop racing a semi truck to get in front of it for no logical reason whatsoever. Condolences to the family.