Lexington, SC (Paul Kirby) - Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher has now identified the one person who died Thursday as a result of the fiery crash on I-20 that happened right at 11 a.m. near the Sunset Boulevard overpass. Fisher said that Kenneth Johnson, 59, of Great Falls was pronounced dead at the scene due to injuries sustained in the collision. Johnson had a passenger in the car with him, but that individual was taken to a hospital and has what is believed to be non-life threatening injuries.
The accident occurred just after 11 a.m. and firefighters were on the scene in less than 5 minutes. What they found was at least one car burning, a tractor trailer in the pile, and at least one person trapped in a vehicle where they couldn’t free themselves even with the assistance of Samaritans who tried. In total, ten vehicles were involved in the chain reaction. A number ofpatients were transported to area hospitals by Lexington County EMS, and at least two of those people were seriously injured.
I-20 west near mile marker 61 or Sunset Boulevard was damaged to the point that several lanes remained closed for a very long time. SCDOT crews were on the scene until approximately 9 p.m. working on two lanes before the interstate was finally reopened. The SCHP MAIT team is heading the investigation and we will update this as we receive additional information.
