An 18-wheeler tore through an S.C. 5 bridge guard rail and plummeted to the ground Monday afternoon, leaving the driver with serious injuries, authorities said.
The crash happened around 2:10 p.m. about 10 miles outside Rock Hill near the Catawba River, said Lance Cpl. Jeff Gaskin of the S.C. Highway Patrol.
Gaskin said 46-year-old Marcus Pinson of Clover was heading east in a Ford pickup and pulling a utility trailer when one of the trailer's tires blew.
The trailer then veered across the center line, striking the left front tire of an oncoming tractor trailer, Gaskin said.
The tractor trailer's driver, 53-year-old Ernest McInnis Jr. of Gastonia, N.C., lost control and the 18-wheeler tumbled off the bridge.
McInnis was flown to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, where he was in serious condition Monday night, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
Pinson was not injured in the crash.
Both drivers were wearing seat belts.
Gaskin said no one would be charged in the crash because it was caused by a blown tire.
