Florida man on a date dies after running onto I-95 in Jasper County, officials say
A 38-year-old Florida man died Thursday night when he was struck by multiple vehicles on Interstate 95 in Jasper County after he side-swiped a train in his car then ran onto the interstate, officials say.
The collision occurred at 9:48 p.m. near mile marker 25, about three miles south of Ridgeland, according to S.C. Highway Patrol.
The man was on a trip with a woman he’d met on the internet, Jasper County coroner Martin Sauls said Friday.
“They somehow or another got off I-95 and got onto a service road for the railroad and a train came by and sideswiped their vehicle,” he said.
The man apparently got into a disagreement with the conductor about who had the right of way before the man ran from the scene, climbed the fence, and ran out onto the middle of I-95, Sauls said.
“He could have been hit by anywhere between 25 and 50 cars before they got everything stopped,” he said.
The Highway Patrol report says that the man was traveling east across the southbound lanes when he was struck by the cars.
He was already dead when a 2011 Suburu SUV — driven by a 73-year-old man also from Florida — traveling south hit his body in the left lane. The driver of this car called 911.
Neither the driver nor the passenger in the SUV, who were both wearing seat belts at the time of the crash, were injured.
The identity of the man will be released upon next of kin being notified, Sauls said.
This story will be updated when more information becomes available.
