Ronald Washington Killed in Crash with Trailer on I-26 in North Charleston, SC
North Charleston, SC — December 12, 2022, 61-year-old Ronald Washington died in a collision with a trailer on Interstate 26 in North Charleston.
Authorities say the incident happened around 3:00 p.m. on eastbound I-26 near mile marker 204. Preliminary investigation suggests Washington was driving a Volkswagen sedan east on the highway when he may have lost control for unknown reasons. The VW swerved off the road to the right and crashed into a trailer that was parked on the roadside and not attached to a truck.
Washington was transported to an area hospital where he died of his injuries a short time later. No other injuries were reported.
The investigation is ongoing. No further information is available at this time.
Commentary on Ronald Washington Accident in Charleston
It's concerning any time a driver leaves the road and hits something on the shoulder, but while some may prematurely blame him for losing control these situations aren't always quite so clear-cut. Investigators may spend the bulk of their efforts on understanding why and how the victim left the travel lanes, but there are other important details to learn as well
For instance, the nature of the trailer on the shoulder and what it was doing there may be bigger factors than they seem. Who left it there and why? Was it fully on the shoulder or was any part of it still in the travel lanes? Was it someone's private trailer or a commercial semi-trailer? If it was commercial, why did a professional truck driver abandon it on the roadside? Was it disabled or damaged? Did they do everything they're required to by federal law to keep other people safe from the potential hazard it created?
I don't know any more than the few vague sentences in news reports can tell at this point, but those reports are frustratingly lacking in important details. Hopefully investigators are hard at work filling in more blanks, since few accidents are really as simple as they first appear. Folks should be sure they have the whole story and refrain from jumping to any conclusions.
