CHEROKEE COUNTY, S.C. — Two people were killed in separate crashes minutes apart Thursday on Interstate 85 near Blacksburg on the border of North Carolina and South Carolina, said Dennis Fowler, the Cherokee County coroner.
Initial reports from Cleveland County’s EMS agency stated that three people had died.
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Leigh Ann Hamilton Marshall, 56, of Sullivans Island, South Carolina was the driver of a 2016 Range Rover headed south.
She drove to the left striking a retainer wall at 4:35 p.m. then back right into the path of a tractor-trailer rig that hit the SUV on the passenger side, trapping Marshall and a front-seat passenger, Fowler said.
Marshall died at the scene. The passenger was taken to Spartanburg Medical Center for treatment, the coroner said.
The second crash was five minutes later.
Another tractor-trailer struck a box-type truck that was stopped in the southbound lane because of the first wreck.
“After making contact, the tractor-trailer dragged the truck several hundred feet before the driver realized it was underneath,” Fowler said in a news release.
The driver of the box truck, Timothy Antonio McNeil, 25, of Charlotte, died at the scene.
Cherokee County: I-85 South bound just inside the state line at mile marker 106. SCHP is investigating a multi vehicle Fatal collision. All south bound lanes are blocked. Seek an alternate route. Detours are being established. pic.twitter.com/aHT2Y1lT30
— Trooper Gary SCHP (@SCHP_Troop4) April 27, 2023
A passenger in the truck was transported to Spartanburg Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.
Eight vehicles were involved in total, EMS stated.
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