‘Already too late’: Family survives chain-reaction crash caused by detached trailer

CHESTER COUNTY, S.C. — A family is grateful to be alive after a detached trailer caused a chain-reaction crash over the weekend.

Lee Wood and his family were heading north on Interstate 77 Saturday when the trailer on the back of a white truck came off.

Dashboard camera video from another driver shows the trailer flying across the median into the northbound lanes, hitting a truck. That caused a chain-reaction crash that injured three people.

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Wood’s car was one of those involved in the crash. He spoke with Channel 9′s Tina Terry from the hospital on Monday. He said he and his wife had some serious injuries but both of them will be OK.

Wood said they were riding with their 3-year-old daughter and their dog when that crash happened. The family was looking forward to a relaxing weekend of camping at Carowinds.

“I caught a glimpse of the trailer out of the corner of my eye but by the time I saw that, it was already too late -- it already came over in our lane,” Wood told Terry.

Wood said the trailer hit a truck in the fast lane and that truck slammed into his pickup, causing it and the camper he was towing to overturn.

“The camper hit the guardrail and disintegrated,” said T. Melton with Richburg Fire. “There was another vehicle that was to the side of the overturned truck and there was a utility trailer 100 yards south of the incident.”

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Wood, his wife, and another adult were seriously injured and rushed to the hospital. Thankfully, his 3-year-old daughter wasn’t hurt, but drivers saw the family’s dog, Cash, limping away from the scene.

“Well I’d like to get him back because we’ve had him for like 8 years so, he’s been part of our life,” Wood said, crying. “My daughter absolutely adores him and he adores my daughter.”

The dash cam video shows the driver of the white truck seemingly speed away from the scene after losing the trailer. Wood said he wants the driver to do the right thing.

“Turn yourself in. Do what you’re supposed to do,” he said.

The highway patrol is calling the crash a hit-and-run and they want to talk to the driver of that truck. If you have information that can help them find the driver, call the South Carolina Highway Patrol at 1-800-768-1503.

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