Worker picking up trash in York County on I-77 killed in fatal crash, troopers say
A worker was killed Wednesday morning in a fatal crash on Interstate 77 in York County that blocked traffic for hours, officials said.
The worker was a contractor working on a trash truck picking up debris around 1:30 a.m. along the highway near mile marker 89 in the northbound lanes, said Master Trooper Gary Miller of the S.C. Highway Patrol.
The worker had gotten out of the truck when he and the truck he had been in were struck by another truck, Miller said. The trash truck was stopped in the left lane of the four lane highway, Miller said.
I-77 northbound from Exit 88 to Exit 90 was blocked until late Wednesday morning as troopers and investigators from the S.C. Department of Public Safety Multi-Disciplinary Accident Investigation (MAIT) team investigated, Miller said.
The collision remains under investigation.
Northbound I-77 was detoured to Gold Hill Road Exit 88 in Fort Mill to U.S. 21 during the crash investigation. Traffic cameras from the S.C. Department of Transportation showed I-77 northbound traffic backed up more than five miles during the morning commute.
U.S. 21 north between S.C. 160 and Carowinds Boulevard had very heavy traffic because of the detoured vehicles, emergency officials said.
More than 100,000 vehicles each day travel the busy stretch of I-77 between Rock Hill and Charlotte, DOT statistics show.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
This story was originally published July 7, 2021 at 8:00 AM.
