A Highway 11 Pickens County car wreck ended the lives of three people in a Mother’s Day tragedy, according to local media reports. This Pickens County car wreck involved a Honda Civic and a Honda Pilot. According local media reports describing the car wreck, the driver of the Honda Pilot crossed the center line and struck the Honda Civic head on, killing three occupants of the Honda Civic. All three died from blunt force trauma. The Highway 11 Pickens County car wreck occurred on May 8, 2016, a Sunday afternoon.

According to local media, the Honda Pilot crossed the center line and hit the Honda Civic head on, resulting in the death of all three occupants of the Honda Civic. Investigators with the South Carolina Highway Patrol will be seeking to determine what caused the driver of the Honda Pilot to cross the center line.  Could this be a case of distracted driving involving texting while driving? That is one of the questions that investigators will be looking to answer going forward.

Hopefully, investigators will obtain cell phone records from the driver of the Pilot. If in fact, texting while driving occurred in this case, then the car wreck was completely preventable. However, media reports are not stating what caused the Honda Pilot to cross the center line and its apparently unknown or not being reported as to the cause of the center line crossing. There are no reports stating the driver of the Honda Pilot was texting while driving.

In any event, this is an absolute tragedy. Apparently, according to local media reports, the three occupants of the Honda Civic were wearing their seatbelts. In fact, three occupants of the Pilot were also wearing their seatbelts. The occupants of the Honda Pilot were taken to Greenville Memorial Hospital in serious condition. The driver of the Honda Pilot was a teenager, age 16. There were two other occupants, both teenagers as well.

Moreover, from reading media accounts of what happened, it appears that the Honda Pilot crossed the center line suddenly, leaving the driver of the Honda Civic little or no time to react to possible avoid the collision.

Automobile accidents are a leading cause of death and permanent injury in the South Carolina and in the United States.

Most, if not all, of the time, automobile accidents are completely preventable. Whether its one driver keeping a proper lookout so as not to leave his or her lane of travel, or maintaining a safe speed for the conditions then and there existing, if drivers exercise caution and follow the rules of the road, then a car wreck can be avoided.

The economic loss from car wrecks is staggering. The human toll and emotional losses are enormous.

The lives lost in this Highway 11 Pickens County car wreck will never be forgotten; but their deaths will leave a gaping wound in the lives of their family members, friends, and community. Driving an automobile is an incredibly dangerous activity that can easily lead to death or serious permanent injury. Drivers must use caution and our community must raise awareness of the dangers associate with driving a car.

UPDATE: WYFF is reporting that investigators with the MAIT investigative team of the S.C. Highway Patrol could not find any evidence of distracted driving playing a role in this case. Here is a link to the news story:  http://www.wyff4.com/news/Investigation-into-triple-fatal-crash-yields-few-answers/40712446