911 caller in Chester Co. crash: ‘There’s people on fire, burning in front of me’

Emergency recordings are shedding new light on an interstate traffic collision that sent two motorcycle riders to the hospital with serious burns.

A driver on Interstate 77 in Chester County near Richburg called 911 on July 12 to report that several motorcycles were swerving in and out of traffic on the highway, just moments before one motorcycle was struck by another car near Exit 65.

“I mean, this is a dangerous situation,” the man on the recording says. “I’ve seen three accidents that almost happened with people coming off the road.”

In the middle of an eight-minute phone call with the Highway Patrol, the driver comes upon a crash scene in the interstate median and begins relaying graphic details to the dispatcher.

“There are people on the pavement on fire,” he says. “Oh my God, literally people being dragged out from under the car.”

The Herald obtained a copy of the recording this week in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

Joey Huckeba of Rock Hill and Teresa Miller of Edgemoor were riding south on Huckeba’s Suzuki motorcycle as part of a motorcycle procession when they were struck from behind by a 2009 Toyota between the rest area and Exit 65, according to the Highway Patrol.

The car came to rest on top of Huckeba and Miller, then caught fire while both were pinned underneath it.

The driver who was already on the phone with a dispatcher was able to relay a firsthand account of what happened next, as interstate traffic slowed to a crawl and eventually the unfolding scene came into the callers’ view.

“There were two people completely run over by the car,” he says on the recording, “and they were burned and the car’s on fire.

“There’s people on fire, burning in front of me.”

Emergency responders closed the southbound lanes of I-77 while two helicopters were called to take the burn victims from the roadside wreckage. Huckeba and Miller initially were taken to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, then to the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center in Chapel Hill. Family members have said they remain in critical condition and face months of painful recovery.

Neither was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, the Highway Patrol said.

As the 911 call continues, the driver describes people rushing to help the two injured riders stuck under the car, and their efforts to put out the flames.

“They’re dumping water bottles on the people to keep them from burning,” he says.

At one point, the caller wonders aloud about whether he should stay on the phone with dispatch as the scene unfolds feet away from his vehicle.

“I’m going to take off and help people,” the driver says. “There’s a car ready to explode in front of me.”

By the end of the call, the caller seems ready to get away from the carnage and asks the dispatcher if he’s allowed to leave the scene.

“I’m pretty shook up,” he tells the dispatcher. “Do I have to stay here?”

The driver of the Toyota involved in the crash, a 35-year-old man from Huntington, W.Va., also was injured in the collision. He was taken by ambulance to Piedmont Medical Center.

The Highway Patrol, which is still investigating the collision more than two weeks later, has not determined who was at fault in the collision or filed any charges related to the accident.

“I knew this was going to happen,” he says. “And I’m on the phone with you and it happens right in front of my eyes.”

This story was originally published July 30, 2015 at 5:17 PM with the headline "911 caller in Chester Co. crash: ‘There’s people on fire, burning in front of me’."