Troopers investigating cause of double fatality pileup on I-95 in South Carolina involving seven commercial vehicles, nine cars

The South Carolina Highway Patrol (SCHP) is investigating a multiple fatality pileup crash that happened in Colleton County late Tuesday afternoon.

Troopers say that the pileup began around 4:38 p.m. on July 22, 2025, on southbound I-95 at mile marker 41 in Colleton County, South Carolina.

The initial collision involved three vehicles, including one commercial vehicle.

A short time later, SCHP said that a second collision occurred at the same location that involved 13 vehicles, 6 of those being commercial motor vehicles.

Two people were killed in the crash, and nine others were hospitalized with various injuries.

The incident closed southbound I-95 for approximately eleven hours.

According to responding agency Colleton County Fire-Rescue (CCFR), the crash occurred amid a heavy thunderstorm, and motorists reported “near zero visibility.”

CCFR described the harrowing conditions under which first responders rescued drivers involved in the pileup:

“The accident involved several vehicles that were piled on top of each other. One semi-truck was hauling sheets of plate glass which was expelled onto the highway. Responders had to work around broken glass, in some areas two feet deep. One victim was trapped in a small passenger car under the pile of vehicles.

A truck driver, whose cab was completely demolished, was trapped in the remains of his cab and two victims were trapped in a pickup truck that was ten feet in the air, crashed through the rear of a semi-trailer. A victim of one vehicle on the bridge, fell off of the bridge into the Combahee River trying to escape his car. He suffered non-life threatening injuries and was able to swim to the bank before responders arrived.“

The crash is under investigation by SCHP.