12/13/2010 // West Palm Beach, FL, US // Sandra Quinlan // Sandra Quinlan
Columbia, SC—A fire truck struck two pedestrians Wednesday night, Dec. 8, 2010, killing one of them and leaving the other injured. The fatal traffic accident occurred after a convenience store clerk called the police on the two men, prompting them to run out of the shop and onto the road, as reported by WIS News 10.
According to Richland County Coroner Garry Watts, a City of Columbia Haz-Mat truck slammed into a 49-year-old Columbia man identified as Michael A. Mayo. Emergency medical crews subsequently rushed Mayo to Palmetto Richland hospital, where his injuries sadly proved fatal.
The fire truck also hit another man, though authorities did not release his identity. That victim apparently suffered a leg injury in the collision.
An employee at the S-Mart convenience store on Forest Drive, where the men were hit, contended her co-worker refused to sell them beer, spurring some sort of disturbance. When the worker called police, the men ran out of the store and into the path of the fire truck.
An eyewitness at the scene stated, “Oh my God, oh my God… I might have said it about ten times and then I went over there. I don’t know what I could do, but I went,” adding that the truck had been driving “very fast” prior to the accident.
Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins said the Haz-Mat truck had responded to the scene of a chemical spill on the USC campus before the deadly traffic crash occurred.
Authorities with the South Carolina Highway Patrol and fire department are expected to conduct a full investigation into the pedestrian-related accident.
Legal News Reporter: Sandra Quinlan– Legal News for South Carolina Personal Injury Lawyers.
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