Sharpe’s Hill, SC 05/08/2023 (Paul Kirby) – A Lexington County man was seriously injured in a single unit ATV crash over the weekend. The unnamed man was thrown from the ATV near the intersection of SC Hwy. 6 and Pelion Road just before 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 6, 2023. Other motorist called 911 which brought a response from the Lexington County Fire Service, EMS, the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, the SC Highway Patrol, and a LifeNet helicopter.
When the first firefighters arrived, the reported that they had a male patient that was unconscious and unresponsive. During their initial care, the patient would occasionally show different levels of consciousness but when he did respond, he was combative. This, plus other signs and symptoms, made the medical team believe that the man, who they estimated was in his mid-thirties, had sustained a serious head injury in the wreck.
After the EMS crew and their supervisor arrived, it was decided that they would transport the patient to a landing zone at Edmund First Baptist Church. He could then be flown to the area’s Level 1 Regional Trauma Center at Prisma’s Palmetto Richland campus in Columbia. Loading the patient went faster than expected so that by the time they were at the church, the helicopter was still enroute. It was then decided to change the landing zone to the South Congaree Equestrian Arena rather than to sit and wait for the flight in Edmund. This would put the patient that much closer to the hospital.
The South Congaree Fire Station was notified, and they set up the LZ at the arena. By the time the ambulance arrived, the helicopter was on its final approach. As soon as it touched down, the patient’s care was transferred from Lexington County EMS to the helicopters medical/flight team. The flight from South Congaree to the Trauma Center was short and on arrival, the man was quickly handed over to the waiting trauma team who took over his care.
The status of the man’s health has not been released to the public. That information is guarded by health care privacy laws. The SC Highway Patrol is still investigating this single-unit collision.
