FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 26, 2000
Contact: SID GAULDEN -- (803) 896-8755
DPS ASSISTS MORE THAN 15,000 MOTORISTS OVER 48 HOURS
COLUMBIA – The South Carolina Highway Patrol and State Transport Police investigated more than 2,000 mostly weather-related collisions and assisted more than 15,000 motorists from Monday, January 24, at 8 a.m. to Wednesday, January 26, at 8 a.m.
Department of Public Safety Director Boykin Rose noted that all available troopers and dispatch personnel would remain on duty as long as needed under the threat of additional bad weather.
The winter weather, which began over the weekend in the Upstate, eventually covered most of South Carolina. Over the weekend, most of the calls for assistance and weather-related accidents were in the Upstate. By late Monday, the majority of collisions were in the Midlands. By Wednesday morning, calls for assistance and reports of collisions came mostly from the Lowcountry.
Richland and Lexington Counties led the state in the number of collisions investigated by the Highway Patrol and State Transport Police for the entire 48-hour period. The number of accidents handled by the Highway Patrol in Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester and Jasper Counties doubled from 93 as of 5 a.m. Tuesday to 208 by 8 a.m. Wednesday.
Wednesday’s weather-related problems were centered in the Lowcountry where numerous bridges and overpasses froze over creating treacherous driving conditions.
SG/8/2000/16:50
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