On March 9, 2016, a Laurens SC school bus accident involving a truck killed one person, the driver of the truck. According to local media reports, the accident occurred on South Carolina Highway 221 at River Fork Road in the Waterloo community of Laurens County. From reading the media reports, it appears that the truck crossed the center line of the highway and hit the school bus head on. No one was injured in the school bus. The truck was a Chevrolet pick up truck. From viewing the images of the wreck that were posted on various media web sites, it appears that the highway was a rural two lane highway in Laurens County, South Carolina.
If the media accounts are true, this tragic Laurens SC school bus accident highlights the deadly consequences that can occur when a vehicle crosses a center line.
While we will probably never know what caused the truck to cross the center line, there are many scenarios that could have taken place. There could have been distracted driving on the part of the truck driver. There could have been the possibility that the truck driver was taking evasive action and was faced with an emergency requiring his sudden veering into the other lane occupied by the school bus. The school bus could have been traveling into the truck driver’s lane causing the truck driver in anticipation to take evasive action. There could have have been a highway defect that could have caused the truck driver to lose control, and thereafter enter the other lane and into the school bus.
As part of the investigation, the South Carolina Highway Multi-discipline Accident Investigation Team or the M.A.I.T. will conduct an accident investigation reconstruction. Maybe that investigation will determine what happened to cause the truck driver to leave his lane and cross head on into the bus.
In any event this tragic Laurens SC school bus accident has taken the life of member of the community. A family member has died-someone’s son, sibling, father, or spouse has lost his life and that hurts the entire family and as a result the entire community. A community loses when a member of it dies. A life suddenly and tragically snuffed out hurts the family and leaves a lasting harm that will not soon go away. The family and the community suffers because of the loss of support and loss of services. When a child loses a parent, the child loses that love, guidance, support, and stability provided by a parent.
The death and carnage on the roads and highways of South Carolina is a travesty and scourge upon our beautiful state and its people. For many years, auto accidents have been one of the leading causes of death and fatality. And these losses, even when its not one of our family members, hurts our state any way. We all are harmed when any one of us dies in a traffic accident.
This Laurens County school bus accident fatality is a sad and tragic reminder or how fragile is life and how all of us are affected when a person loses his or her life in a truck accident.