A Greenville SC car accident has resulted in a fatality with authorities attributing icy conditions as playing a role.

The fatality occurred on February 15, 2016. Freezing temperatures caused rain to become ice, and as a result, roads became very slick.

Local media are reporting about the basic facts of this Greenville SC accident.  According to local media, in this car accident, a law enforcement first responder was at the scene of a car wreck on Villa Road near I385.  Another car that was not involved in the first accident hit the police cruiser that then apparently hit a person who had been involved in the first accident, forcing that person over a concrete barrier and down an embankment to his death. This Greenville SC car accident has resulted in an unspeakable tragedy; and its sounds as if it was a preventable accident.

From reading the accounts in local media, the second car that collided with the patrol vehicle may have been possibly traveling too fast for conditions. Media reports did not state whether the driver of that vehicle was charged with violating any traffic law however.

So what does the law say about car accidents that occur in snowy, icy conditions?  Well the number one rule, regardless of snowy and icy conditions, is that a driver is required to drive a vehicle at a reasonable speed depending upon the conditions then and there existing. Thus, if there is ice on the road, a driver is required to drive the vehicle in such a manner and at such a speed that the vehicle would not become uncontrollable.  And if that can’t be done, then the driver should not be on the road and should not be operating the vehicle at all under the conditions then and there existing. And if that means pulling over and stopping the car and calling for assistance, then so be it.

A driver also has the duty to keep his or her car under control at all times. If icy conditions prevent that from happening, then the driver should not be driving the car on the road at all.

Driving in icy conditions is very, very dangerous to begin with because at any time a driver may not be able to keep his or her vehicle under control, as is required under law. Thus, a driver should not get out on the roads when there is snow and ice.  Obviously as is seen in the aforementioned Greenville SC car accident, fatalities and tragedies can occur.