While over in the war zone for the last 4 weeks protecting these scum bags, Gene Jr. gets the call last night around 11:00 pm est as we sit with his wife as the state troopers give her the news:

Posted on Thu, Jan. 24, 2002

Man dies in I-20 collision
3 vehicles involved in deadly accident; one driver faces DUI charges; traffic snarled for hours
By KIMATHI LEWIS
Staff Writer

An 18-year-old woman was charged Wednesday in a collision that killed one man, seriously injured another and backed up traffic for hours on I-20 near Alpine Road, officials said.

The 3 p.m. collision involved a tractor-trailer, a car and a semi-truck tractor without a trailer.

Charges against the car's driver, Columbia resident Shanna Marie Kranchick, include two counts of felony driving under the influence, State Highway Patrol's Lance Cpl. Kelley Hughes said.

The truck tractor driver, Gene Croft, 62, of 1024 Montgomery Lane in Columbia, died in the collision from multiple injuries, Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said.

The tractor-trailer's driver, Stanford E. Owens, 58, of Camden, broke both legs in the wreck and was in stable condition Wednesday at Palmetto Richland Memorial Hospital, officials said.

The passenger in Croft's tractor, Daniel Sharpe, 64, of Cayce, suffered minor injuries and also was in the hospital, Hughes said.

No one was injured in the car Kranchick was driving.

The incident unfolded as Kranchick was driving a 1997 Ford Taurus east on the interstate, which has a 60 mph speed limit, Hughes said.

Croft was heading in the same direction, Hughes said.

The car and tractor collided, Hughes said. It was unclear Wednesday how and why.

The Taurus slid to a stop off the right side of the road, Hughes said. Croft's tractor went left and jumped the steel cable median barriers, pushing them to the ground, Hughes said.

The tractor continued into the westbound lane, where it was hit by Owens' 2001 Westernstar semi pulling a dump trailer, Hughes said.

The impact caused Croft's tractor to flip back into the median where it landed on its top, Hughes said.

Owens' tractor-trailer also ended up in the median, the spokesman said. Columbia firefighters had to cut Owens from the tractor-trailer, Hughes said.

Watts said it took about four hours to get Croft's body from the mangled tractor.

The cable median barriers "aren't designed for tractors; they are designed for cars," Watts said. "But it could have been worse. It slowed him down. He could have gone farther and hit more people."

At one point, traffic was backed up for three miles on both sides as investigators worked the scene during rush hour, Hughes said. Troopers opened the lanes at 8 p.m.

Investigators also charged Kranchick with driving under suspension, simple possession of marijuana and child endangerment because two juveniles were in her car, Hughes said.

One of Kranchick's passengers, Donald B. Adams Jr., 21, of Elgin, also was charged with simple possession of marijuana, Hughes said.


I just never hope a trooper has to come to my home in the middle of the night and deliver news as our neighbor and closest friends recieved last night.
Gene Jr. is the oldest and has 2 sisters. He has a very long and agonizing flight to make, just to be with his family at this tragic time. God bless all of them!

Keith

 

harleyrider : very sorry to hear about your neighbor's tragedy. unfortunately there are always those out there who think "they can handle it" the booze and drugs that is. makes life tough for those who have to be on those highways to make a living, and those of us who are out there doing our own thing straight.
especially having kids in the car, i hope she gets to stay in a state hotel for a long time. was she charged with vehicular homicide? maybe she will be in the end. it won't bring back your friends father but it will at least keep her off the road.

 

Sorry to hear about that.
What will it take for people to realise how their careless actions affect others?

Odd how drinkers think "they can handle it" when if they could handle life, they wouldn't be drinking like that.
I hope the *female dog used for breeding* "can handle it" when the other girls show her the new set of rules she is to live by.

 

i hope she is put away and made somebody "toy" in prision. sorry to hear about the news. when something like that happens it makes you realize that life is very fragile

 

so, that makes them a waste of oxygen?

 

DAN B: no it's more the fact that not only do they not care about their own life, they don't give a crap about anyone else's either. it doesn't matter why they do it or how you sugar coat it, when you take someone else's life through your own stupidity and selfishness it's unforgiveable. this incident was totally avoidable through the use of nothing more then a little common sense. and it always seems to be the non drinkers who die in these situations.