An 18-year-old woman from Columbia, S.C. died Friday after being struck by a tractor-trailer while walking across Interstate 77 in Chester County on Thursday night. According to police, the woman had gotten out of her vehicle following a crash with another tractor-trailer when she was struck.
The victim had been traveling north on I-77 near the S.C. 97 exit outside Great Falls on Thursday night when she rear-ended a different tractor-trailer. Her vehicle crossed the median and hit an embankment on the southbound side of the highway and ran off the road. It appears the woman got out of her car and was walking across the southbound lanes of I-77 when she was struck by the second tractor-trailer which was being driven by a 54-year-old man from Concord, N.C. The woman was taken by helicopter to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, where she died Friday night from injuries sustained in the truck accident.
It is important for drivers involved in car accidents on a highway to be extremely cautious. Here are some suggestions to keep yourself and others safe if you are ever involved in an accident on the highway or if your car breaks down on the highway:
- Try to get it as far away from traffic as possible. If there is an emergency lane, pull into it. If there is a safe grassy area next to the lane, pull into it.
- It is best to stay in the vehicle until police or road service help arrives. However, if you can’t put the car in a safe area, move away from the car. Passengers should exit from the side of the car facing away from traffic.
- If you get out of your vehicle, proceed carefully and watch for oncoming traffic, especially at night or in bad weather, when visibility is limited. Try to be as visible as possible. If you don’t have a reflective vest, put on the lightest piece of clothing available and carry a flashlight at night.
- You should not stand in front of or behind your car because it keeps other drivers from seeing you.
- Always carry warning devices, such as flares and triangles, with you. Place these a good distance from the vehicle. Although hazard lights are effective, drivers sometimes confuse them with running lights and steer onto the emergency lane.
