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Earlier today, our media outlet reported exclusively on a cattle carrier crash that took place early Tuesday morning (February 13, 2024) in rural South Carolina.
Multiple animals perished in the incident, which took place at approximately 1:00 a.m. EST in the southbound lane of Interstate 95 near mile marker 55 – just west of Walterboro, S.C. Initial dispatch reports referenced a “semi truck carrying cattle” which landed “in a ditch” after striking a guardrail. The cab of the truck was reportedly “on fire,” while the trailer was “fully submerged” in a nearby creek.
The driver of the tractor trailer survived the crash – sustaining minor injuries for which he was treated at a local hospital – but unfortunately most of the 35 cattle he was transporting were not so lucky.
Our outlet has obtained several images from the scene of the crash – which is located near a crossing of the rain-swollen Ashepoo River.
Take a look …
(Click to View)
(Colleton County Fire and Rescue)
The crash closed traffic in both northbound and southbound lanes on Interstate 95 for approximately nine hours on Tuesday morning.
What happened?
Investigators are still attempting to determine what caused the crash, although initial reports suggest the driver of the trailer “fell asleep.”
“There was a cattle truck and trailer that was traveling southbound on Interstate 95 which ended up running off the road and crashing into a swampy area, a wet area,” trooper Nick Pye of the S.C. Highway Patrol (SCHP) told us. “Some of those cows have gotten loose and our professionals are in the process of trying to locate and catch them.”
Working in concert with local emergency responders and game wardens from the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), troopers have been attempting to locate the handful of cows that managed to survive the incident.
As we previously reported, as many as six cows are believed to have survived the crash – although a seventh surviving cow was put down by game wardens.
“We can confirm we humanely euthanized an injured cow as a result of a tractor-trailer collision on I-95 in Colleton County,” Pye told us.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina and before that he was a bass guitarist and dive bar bouncer. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven (soon to be eight) children.
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1 comment
They just don’t make truck drivers like they used to. Twenty, thirty, forty, or more years ago; truckers were known as “Knights of the Road”. They were courteous, professional, and skilled, drivers. If you heard about a collision involving a four-wheeler and an 18-wheeler, it was usually a safe bet that the four-wheeler was at fault, not the 18-wheeler.
In the last twenty or so years, something has changed. You see, read, and hear, of so many collisions involving 18-wheelers that involve carelessness, recklessness, or other preventable actions by the truck driver. It is no longer a safe bet that a collision between a four-wheeler and an 18-wheeler is the four-wheeler’s fault. What has changed? In the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s, we were told “horror” stories of drivers using “pocket rockets” to stay awake, having multiple licenses in differing states, talking on CB radios to avoid speed radar, and such. Today, in our much more “enlightened” era, drivers have one and one only CDL to drive with. Use of “speed” to stay awake has been greatly curtailed. Many companies forbid their drivers to use CB radios, cell phones, and other communications devices. Drivers have to take regular breaks from driving, some very lengthy, even if only a few miles from their destination. With all of these safety “improvements”, the number of careless accidents caused by truckers seems to have greatly increased. Why?
Could it be, as with many things in life, the more you try and control something, the more out of control it becomes? Instead of letting the drivers do what works for them, they are now forced to abide laws, rules, and protocols; often drafted and instituted by people who have no idea what the job of a trucker really entails?
While not an ideal that many of us would embrace, might this driver have stayed awake and on the road if he had a “pocket rocket” in his system? Did his company allow him to have a CB radio, or was it one that considers them nothing more than a dangerous distraction? CB radios were good, not only for learning of road hazards (speed traps, debris in roadway, cars going the wrong way, bridges out, and more), they kept drivers awake with friendly and sometimes not-so-friendly banter as they moved down the road. This kept them alert and awake. On several occasions as I commuted using the Interstates, I would get behind an 18-wheeler late at night that was weaving all over the road. Back when most had a CB on board, I would ask the driver if he was okay. The drivers let me know they were just short of dozing off. I asked them to roll their window down so they could get fresh air and advised them of the nearest upcoming exit where they could get out, stretch their legs, and get coffee or food. I told them I would stay on the radio with them until they got to that exit. Every one was grateful for the conversation, the jokes to get them laughing and awake, and the directions to somewhere they could take a break. I would like to think that I prevented some bad accidents and ruined careers by doing so.
As with CB, many companies prohibit drivers from talking on their cell phones and now, many have audio and video surveillance of the drivers in the cab to ensure they do not violate these silly rules.
Perhaps it is time we go back in time a bit with the rules and restrictions and let the truck drivers have a little room to breathe.