Local Radar

Merriwether youth escapes injury in airborne crash
web posted February 23, 2006
Click on pictures for a larger view

Below: The tree in front of the car is the pine that was hit
MERRIWETHER – A Merriwether young man was lucky to escape serious injury Wednesday afternoon when he lost control of the Ford Explorer he was driving when it left the opposite side of the road. After leaving the road, the SUV became airborne and snapped a pine tree eight feet in the air before hitting an oak tree even higher and landing right side up.

The sixteen year old driver said he had the cruise control on when all of a sudden the vehicle hydroplaned coming out of a curve on Martintown Road near Little Lane around 4:00 pm. Unable to steer the young man said the Explorer continued across the eastbound lane where it went down a four to five foot embankment, slid around 60 yards, before hitting an old road bed which acted like a ramp, launching the SUV into the air. 

Firemen examine the scene. The tree to the left is the tree struck first
While airborne 15 to 20 yards the vehicle struck a pine tree about 18” in diameter about eight feet in the air where it snapped like a toothpick. The vehicle then slid up two smaller trees before striking an oak tree even higher in the air before landing on all four wheels and never overturning. “He was lucky,” Merriwether Fireman Ray Johnson said.

The young man was able to walk away from the crash with only scratches and a few sore places. “I had my seat belt on,” the young man said on the scene. “I blacked out for a moment after I hit that tree,” the youth said pointing to the oak, “I don’t remember much after that.” The young man’s mother arrived on the scene right after the crash. She said she was “very happy” her son was okay.

“Seat belts and airbags work if you use them,” Fireman Rudy Brooks said. All present on the scene agreed the young man would not have survived the crash without the safety devices.

The South Carolina Highway Patrol Trooper investigating the crash told the young man he was driving too fast. The young man said he was driving the speed limit. Even so, the speed was still “too fast,” the Trooper said due to the rainy conditions.

The crash slowed traffic on Martintown Road for about an hour before the vehicle could be cleared from the scene.

 

Featured Dining

Hong Kong

---

Heritage Jubilee 2006
Volunteers may contact Chairperson Joel Jolly. Phone: 803-637-9971
or Email here