KFI: A mother and her two children died in a fiery crash on interstate I-95 in South Carolina after their Kia Soul hit an alligator that was crossing the highway. The car swerved off the highway and struck a tree before bursting into flames. Orangeburg County Chief Deputy Coroner Sean Fogle said that 24-year-old Amber Stanley, her 4-year-old son Jack and 2-year-old daughter Autumn “died of thermal injuries due to the vehicle fire.”
Stanely was driving north on I-95 just before one in the morning when she struck the alligator as it attempted to make its way across the highway. Stanely ran over the gator causing her to lose control of her SUV. She swerved to left side of the road and into the median before colliding with a tree. The car then burst into flames, trapping the three inside.
The South Carolina Highway Patrol is continuing to investigate the crash.
The family was from Callahan, Florida, which is about 20 miles north of Jacksonville.
Very sad story, but…
WHOOPEE! IT WASN’T IN FLORIDA!
It’s gator mating season. They are on the move from one body of water to another.
If you haul kids, drive something at least heavy enough to splatter an alligator and stay in control. Sad deal.
Tragic. Terrible way to die. And so unnecessary.
Time to declare open season on gators. They were never endangered. Now they far outnumber humans throughout the Southeast.
Crossing I-95 at the I-26 junction. I just drove through there last week.
G-d Bless.
… very sad
for the humans & the ‘gator
but … why is this the ‘gator’s fault?
(Steve Irwin voice. Still works for alligators.)
HE’S A NAUGHTY BOY!
Sorry.
Alligators in the South are like Deer up North. Reptiles and rodents, Shoot the phuckers on sight. That includes Rudolph and Bambi. Phucked me up a few tears ago on Seven Lakes Drive. Lovely ride except for the phucken rodents.
I’d rather hit a deer.
There are plenty of deer and gators where I live. I’ve hit deer before and almost hit a huge gator at night. Be safe out there.
What this country need is some common sense alligator control laws.
“Thermal injuries”. I wonder who came up with that euphemism for “burned to death”. Jesus.
Drain the swamp
@Vietvet – Yeah, that caught in my craw, too. Plus the sloppy writing having those poor people die of those “thermal injuries” and THEN running off the road and the car catching fire.
Oh God that is horrible.
RIP. How’d the gator make out?
@Sleipnir 2013: They gave him gator aid. He’s re-hide-rating.
“thermal injuries” = burning to death
mary jo kopechne suffocating in submerged car = suffered from water hazzard
@bill: Or if she drowned, “over-hydrated”.
SC has rethought the whole trees in the median thing….
For the last few years….they’ve been harvesting the median trees…..
And doing what Georgia does….cables and/or guardrails dividing the lanes.