Darlington, SC : One person dead after truck collides with courthouse on S.C. 34 at the Darlington County early Monday morning, April 18, 2016
One person is dead after a small truck collided with the Darlington County courthouse early Monday morning, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
The accident occurred around 3:35 a.m., when a 1998 Chevrolet pickup driving down S.C. 34 at the Darlington County square left the road and ran into the courthouse, said the Highway Patrol.
The truck caught fire, and the driver died as a result of the crash. The Darlington County Courthouse was shut down for the whole day on Monday. Smoke got into the second and third floors of the building, but a structural engineer deemed the building safe for county employees to return to work Tuesday morning for normal hours.
Main Street and Pearl Street was closed off all morning because of the crash. Crews towed away the vehicle for investigation. James Hudson, Chief Deputy with the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office said, “When I arrived the vehicle was put it, it wasn’t burning anymore, just smoke smothering. The fire department response time was great (vo) and at this point nothing was burned inside that we know of, just a lot of smoke damage, water damage and structural damage as well.”