Witnesses, church members attempt rescue in Rock Hill car crash

Worshipers leaving church came across a serious accident on their way home Sunday, and tried to rescue several people in an overturned car before emergency responders could arrive.

Three people were trapped inside an overturned Toyota Camry at the intersection of Robertson and Ogden roads. Witnesses said the Camry entered the intersection from Robertson and collided with a black SUV driving on Ogden, then came to rest on its side in a culvert on the side of the road. The accident occurred around 1 p.m.

Rock Hill firefighters had to cut the passengers out of the car. One woman was airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte by helicopter, and a young boy was taken from the scene by ambulance. A man who had been in the Camry was walking at the scene with blood coming from his head, while the driver of the SUV sat on the ground nearby with blood on his arm.

The accident happened just as church was letting out at Nazareth Baptist Church on West Robertson, and many passersby stopped and tried to help the entrapped passengers in their suits and Sunday dresses.

Reginald Brackett, a deacon at Nazareth, was coming from church with his family when they came upon the accident scene.

“As soon as it happened, everybody was saying ‘we’ve got to get them out of the car,’” Brackett said, noting that fellow deacon James Hall was among those trying to force open the door of the Camry.

Brackett didn’t know the family in the Camry, but recognized the driver of the SUV as a member of a neighboring church, and thought he may have just left services himself when the accident happened.

Rock Hill police had not determined the cause of the accident Sunday, and members of the Serious Traffic Accident Reconstruction team were working to determine the sequence of events.

Not only were members of the church involved in trying to save the crash victims, but when the helicopter arrived to transport the woman passenger, it landed in an open field behind a “Nazareth Baptist Church: The Next Generation.” Others at the scene said they came up Ogden from Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church on Mockingbird Lane before the crash occurred.

“It’s devastating, but you know, we’re prayerful that it’s not the worst it could have been,” Brackett said, “and the community came together, because everybody who came by stopped and was concerned.”

This story was originally published June 5, 2016 at 4:40 PM with the headline "Witnesses, church members attempt rescue in Rock Hill car crash."