WINNSBORO – No one was seriously injured, but traffic came to a crawl Friday evening after a S.C. Highway Patrol (SCHP) vehicle smashed into a 2006 Nissan driven by a Winnsboro woman at the intersection of Highway 34 and Highway 321.
According to a report from the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office, which handled the wreck, the Highway Patrol’s 2012 Chevrolet SUV, driven by Cedric Dewayne Morgan, was traveling north on Highway 321 at approximately 5:15 p.m. Friday when he activated his blue lights and accelerated to pursue a speeder. As Morgan approached the Highway 34 intersection, a 2006 Nissan four-door, driven by Keisha C. Jackson of Winnsboro and traveling south on Highway 321, attempted to make a left-hand turn onto Highway 34, crossing paths with Morgan’s SCHP SUV.
The SCHP vehicle rammed into the rear passenger side of the Nissan, spinning Jackson around into Highway 34, where her car came to rest facing north. The Chevrolet SUV, meanwhile, overturned in the right north-bound lane of 321 and skidded off onto the side of the highway where it came to rest facing south.
The report estimated Morgan’s speed at the time of the collision at 70 MPH, while Jackson’s speed was estimated at 5 MPH as she made the turn. Damages to the SCHP’s Chevrolet were estimated at $20,000, while damages to Jackson’s Nissan were estimated at $7,000.
Access to Highway 321 from Highway 34 was still blocked at the S.C. Railroad Museum an hour after the accident as Fairfield County Sheriff’s deputies redirected traffic down Golf Course Road. The north-bound lanes of Highway 321, meanwhile, were blocked at Industrial Park Road.
It was not known at press time if any charges would be filed as a result of the accident.
