Driver was on his phone during crash that killed infant in South Carolina, troopers say
The driver of a concrete truck was on his phone when he was involved in a crash that killed a 3-month-old, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
The driver, Creshuan Rainey, is now facing several charges, including reckless homicide, troopers said Tuesday.
The crash happened on April 4 on Highway 29 near Welcome Road, north of Williamston.
Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore said a 3-month-old child, identified as Jakai Govan, of Anderson, died the next day as a result of the crash.
Master Trooper Mitchell Ridgeway said a 2006 Dodge pickup truck was headed south on Highway 29 and was stopped in traffic.
Shore said the vehicles were stopped due to road work in the area.
He said a 2013 Chevy sedan was also headed south on Highway 29 and was stopped behind the pickup.
Ridgeway said a 2018 Terex concrete truck hit the Chevy sedan from behind, which caused the sedan to hit the pickup in the rear.
Shore said the concrete truck, driven by Rainey, was traveling too fast for conditions when it hit the back of the sedan he identified as a Chevy Impala.
Troopers said Tuesday that evidence showed Rainey was on his phone at the time of the crash.
"The impact caused the cement truck to overturn down an embankment and pushed the Chevy Impala into the back of a Dodge Pickup truck which then caused a pile-up effect," Shore said.
He said the child was restrained in a car seat and had to be extricated from the Impala before being airlifted to Greenville Memorial Hospital.
"The cause of death has been determined as a subdural hemorrhage secondary to a skull fracture," Shore said, calling the manner of death accidental.
Ridgeway said the driver of the sedan, from Anderson, was also taken by helicopter to the same hospital. No information was released about the driver's condition.
The family of the driver of the pickup, from Anderson, said he had to be extricated from the wreck and was taken by ambulance to the hospital with back and neck injuries.
Rainey, from Honea Path, was not injured, Ridgeway said.