A multi-vehicle pileup shut down southbound Interstate 95 in South Carolina’s Clarendon County Thursday morning as crews fought a blaze, freed trapped drivers, and diverted traffic.
Emergency crews rushed to the scene near mile marker 100 after a crash involving more than 40 vehicles brought a key stretch of the interstate to a halt. WIS reported that officials put the toll at fifteen 18-wheelers and 50 vehicles, with firefighters working to extinguish a fire and clear wreckage while southbound lanes stayed completely closed.
Traffic stopped and backed up from mile marker 97 to 102. First responders said four people were trapped in their cars. All four were removed. Santee Fire Officials said one person was flown out by medevac and several others with minor injuries were taken to a local hospital.
For drivers heading through the Carolinas, the message was blunt: avoid the area, find another route, and expect major delays. How long the southbound shutdown would last was unknown.
Clarendon County Fire Rescue and other first responders worked the pileup while the South Carolina Department of Transportation set a detour for southbound traffic at the 102 exit.
An update later said northbound lanes of I-95 had reopened. Southbound lanes remained shut as crews kept clearing the scene.
No cause for the crash was released. No names of the injured were made public. Officials did not say how long the fire burned or when the wreckage would be fully cleared. First responders said only that the duration of the lane closures was still unknown.
Interstate 95 is one of the East Coast’s main freight and travel corridors. A crash that pulls in fifteen tractor-trailers and dozens of other vehicles does not stay local for long. Backups stretching across five mile markers turn a morning commute, or a long-haul run, into a standstill.
SCDOT’s detour at exit 102 gave southbound drivers a way around the worst of it. That still left motorists and truckers sorting alternate routes with little notice and no firm reopening time.
Santee Fire Officials’ injury report stayed limited: one medevac, several minor injuries treated at a local hospital, and four entrapments already resolved. No fatalities, arrests, or citations were reported in the available accounts.
What is clear is the scale. More than 40 vehicles. A working blaze. Full southbound closure. A helicopter transport. And a warning from the scene that the wait was not over.
When a major interstate fills with wreckage and fire, first responders do the hard work while everyone else pays the price in lost time, and travelers learn again how thin the margin is on America’s busiest roads.
