Interstate Lawsuit Article  

Wreck-prone stretch of I-26 drives lawsuit

Charleston, S.C.
BO PETERSEN
Aug 16, 1998

Copyright The Post and Courier Aug 16, 1998

A straightaway, 28-mile stretch of Interstate 26 has come to be called The Triangle.

It's a macabre reference to the Bermuda, or Devil's, Triangle - a huge span of the Atlantic Ocean off Florida where ships and planes mysteriously have vanished.

On I-26, The Triangle is a long rural ride over two swamps, from mile marker 200 in Berkeley County to mile marker 172 in Dorchester County, roughly from the rest area near Ladson to the weigh station past Harleyville.

When it rains along those miles, the road disappears from under the wheels of cars, some motorists say.

"All of a sudden we hydroplaned," said John O. McDougall of Sumter, who was injured when a car driven by his son slid off the highway near Harleyville in 1995 and hit a pine tree.

"Almost at the same time, two other cars hydroplaned," he said.

What some say is an unusual number of wet-road car wrecks on that stretch has spawned a class-action lawsuit by motorists and prompted concern from officials, rescue workers, even a wrecker company.

The plaintiffs' claims echo a common perception that there were more rain-related wrecks after roadwork in 1994-95.

Traffic safety researchers caution that many factors - including total traffic and rainy day numbers - can affect those numbers.

A dozen or so lawsuits have been filed involving the incidents since July 1996, some of which now have been included in the class- action lawsuit.

The class-action suit against the S.C. Department of Transportation and Banks Construction Co. claims that asphalt repaving in 1994-95 did not create the required slope for drainage and that a 10-mile concrete stretch of the road toward Harleyville does not drain properly.

The class-action lawsuit has at least 102 plaintiffs after a recent mailing to people involved in wrecks on the road. There are more calls coming in every day, said attorney Mark Tanenbaum.

From July 1994 through June 1997, 1,387 wrecks occurred on the 28- mile stretch - 407 on wet road, Tanenbaum said.

"Our experts tell us there is a significantly higher percentage of wet road wrecks than there should be," he said.

That area of I-26 was resurfaced between July 1994 and November 1995. The state began repairing the slope on curves in Dorchester County in August 1996. That work was completed in October. In Berkeley County, the curve repair work ran from April to June of this year.

Sections of the concrete road were replaced from January to June, and grooves cut lengthwise in the road from February to June.

Both the new sections and the grooves were worked to smooth a rough ride caused by uneven sections, said District Engineer Bruce Brigman, not because there were problems with the road.

The grooves also improve "skid resistance," or traction between tires and the road surface, he said.

Brigman in 1996 asked the state to conduct skid resistance tests on the repaved asphalt stretch of the interstate after motorists reported running off the road during heavy rain. "Slippery When Wet" signs also were installed.

Brigman last week would not say what the tests showed or why repair work was done to the slope on curves, referring questions to an attorney hired for the lawsuits.

That "cuts right to the heart of this litigation we have," Brigman said.

Drivers' actions will be a focus of the defense in the lawsuit, said attorney Andrew Halio, who is representing the Transportation Department.

"I think people need to slow down when it is raining. Depending on how hard it is raining, you're going to have water on the road," he said.

The state is not accepting liability for the wrecks, Halio said.

"Simply because a portion of the roadway might have been less than perfect does not mean the DOT was negligent, and certainly does not mean the DOT is liable if someone had an accident," he said.

That's not to say there are problems with the roadway, Halio said. That would have to be proven in court, he said. Even if it could be proven, negligence still would have to be proven, too, he said.

"I think the DOT has been fairly well responsive to concerns that have been raised by different people," Halio said.

Reid Banks, Banks Construction Co. president, and John Tiller, the company's attorney, said a Transportation Department investigation showed the company did the repaving work the contract called for.

"We believe the plaintiffs ought to dismiss Banks Construction from the case and deal with the DOT," Tiller said.

After a Charleston Southern University student died on the stretch in December, Berkeley County Coroner Wade Arnette began driving the road during different types of rain.

"I'm concerned about it, why we've had so many wrecks, an unusual number of wrecks and fatalities," Arnette said.

He never fishtailed, and never hit an excessive pool of water except during heavy rain, he said. "I have never found any fault. I don't know what's causing it. I really don't."

But he suspects motorists driving too fast for conditions is a factor.

"They are flat out putting it down out there," he said. Driver fatigue on the monotonous stretch also might be a factor, he said.

McDougall launched the class-action lawsuit after his wreck on an afternoon in November 1995, during what he called a drizzling rain. The car was totaled. McDougall suffered broken ribs, cuts and bruises.

Highway Patrol reports for the McDougall wreck and the two that followed say the cars struck water on the roadway. All three cars were estimated to be traveling 60 mph. The speed limit is 65 mph.

Both a rescue worker and wrecker driver mentioned they were responding to a lot of wet road wrecks at that location, McDougall said.

William Hill of Buddy's Auto Restore in St. George said his company - one of a dozen or so on a rotation of wreckers used for wrecks on the interstate - used to be called out repeatedly.

"All the same spot. All wet weather," Hill said. The company has not had that type of call in the past six months, he said.

McDougall is an attorney, president of the S.C. Bar, and former president of the S.C. Trial Lawyers Association.

He took what he heard about the rain-related wrecks to heart, he said. He contacted Doug Patrick, a Greenville attorney and also a former association president.

"I thought something had to be done," McDougall said. McDougall, his son and wife now are among the class-action plaintiffs.

Patrick requested a computer study of the road from the Transportation Department.

"At first blush, the results were astounding," he said. A year and a half later, the lawsuit was on.

The first lawsuit is scheduled for trial in September. Tanenbaum said he expects the class-action lawsuit to go to trial sometime after Jan. 1.

"We're doing this for public safety," Tanenbaum said, "not money."

ED:Bo Petersen covers people and issues in Dorchester County. He can be reached at 745-5852 or at bopete@postandcourier.com

Credit: The Post and Courier

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.