A tragic accident in Spartanburg, SC left three teenagers dead, another injured, and a driver jailed on Monday, August 16.
Officials say the crash happened just before 2 AM on Interstate 26 near Inman. A Hummer driven by Melissa Ann Parker, 43, of Spartanburg, hit a Kia sedan carrying four teenagers from Fishers, a suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. Troopers report that Parker was driving west in the eastbound lanes of I-26.
The vehicles collided head-on. Sadly, 18-year-old Brianna Lynn Foster, Elleana Lee Gaddis, and Isabella Gaddis (both 17), were all pronounced dead at the scene. A fourth teenager was taken to a local hospital with injuries.
Following the accident, Parker fled the scene. Police later found and arrested her. She was charged with three counts of felony DUI with death, three counts of felony hit-and-run with death, and one count of felony hit-and-run with personal injury, according to troopers.
Regrettably, South Carolina has one of the highest rates of DUI fatalities in the country. The Zebra, an online insurance brokerage, reports that about 30 percent of auto accident fatalities in the state were related to drunk driving. South Carolina ranks fifth in the nation for alcohol-related accident deaths.
If you know a surviving family member of a person who was injured or killed in an accident, please encourage them to contact our firm immediately. The consultation is completely free, with no out-of-pocket cost to the family to hire us.
For over 25 years the attorneys at Auger & Auger have been dedicated to protecting the rights of individuals and families that have suffered injuries or lost loved ones due to the negligence of others. We have years of experience guiding and helping our clients every step of the way to receive compensation for aspects such as medical bills, funeral costs, and other monetary losses.
Editorial Note: At A&A we are always looking to improve the quality and safety and are saddened by the outcome of many tragic accidents across the Carolinas. The purpose of this news blog is to write about cases relevant to our industry and raise awareness about injury cases so that victims of similar incidents can educate themselves on theories of liability, the law, and how personal injury cases typically work. This article is created using publicly available information and is a secondary source. If you find any information here to be inaccurate, please notify us at vip@www.augerlaw.com, and we will make the appropriate adjustments.