Driver recalls crash

August 14, 2007

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal staff writer

“It all happened so fast.”
According to his niece, Cherie Gilchrist, those are the words Greenwood’s Michael Gilchrist, 41, used in describing the Sunday morning wreck on S.C. 246 that left him and his girlfriend, Cross Hill’s Teresa Dillard, hospitalized and claimed the life of Ninety Six’s David Michael Hayhurst.
The wreck occurred just after 7 a.m. Sunday. According to S.C. Highway Patrolman Scot Edgeworth, the collision involved two cars. Edgeworth said it appeared Hayhurst, driving a 1995 GMC Jimmy, drifted left across the center line, striking the 2002 Ford Explorer driven by 41-year-old Michael Gilchrist, of Greenwood, head on.
Edgeworth said Sunday that Hayhurst’s car also burst into flames at the scene. In all, the wreck blocked off that section of S.C. 246 for about five hours.
Cherie Gilchrist said Michael, who was transported to Self Regional via EMS, suffered a broken leg and and a cracked pelvis.
Meanwhile, Cherie noted that Dillard, who was airlifted to Greenville Memorial Hospital on Sunday, had two broken legs and was suffering from internal bleeding. Cherie said she understood that Dillard’s condition had stabilized as of Monday morning.
Cherie said she was able to speak briefly with her uncle about the collision.
“He just said it all happened so fast,” Cherie said. “He said he was driving along and saw (Hayhurst) was on their side of the road. He said he was coming really fast. They tried to swerve out of the way but couldn’t do it in time.”
Cherie reported Michael Gilchrist and Dillard were wearing their seat belts, saying her uncle admitted his belt was probably what saved his life.
Hayhurst was one of three Lakelands residents who died on South Carolina roadways this weekend.
B Ninety Six’s Dakota Miller, 11, died Saturday evening as he rode in a car — with his mother, Tina Miller, and two siblings — along Interstate 26 in Newberry County. The Millers’ Toyota was part of multiple collisions involving four vehicles along the rainy interstate, according to information provided by Edgeworth on Sunday.
Also, Greenwood’s Joshua Thomas Lee Crim, 19, died just after midnight Saturday after suffering traumatic injuries in a one-car wreck Friday night. Crim’s three passengers, two males and a female, were reportedly in stable condition as of Monday afternoon.
According to reports from Highway Patrol, Crim apparently lost control driving a white Mazda on Stoney Point Road Friday and skidded off the highway. Emergency workers worked for one hour getting all four people out of the car, with Crim being airlifted to Greenville Memorial.
By the time Sunday ended, the weekend was documented by Highway Patrol as being the deadliest of the year for the Lakelands.
According to information released Monday by S.C. Department of Public Safety’s Sid Gaulden, there were eight fatalities on South Carolina roadways all weekend. Nearly half were Lakelands residents.
On Monday, Edgeworth reminded motorists across the Lakelands that the state Highway Patrol’s “100 Deadly Days of Summer” are still in effect and will last through Labor Day.
“When I tell people about the 100 Deadly Days of Summer, that’s when the most fatalities come in,” Edgeworth said. “So when driving then, you are facing a higher risk of collision. So we are asking drivers, all drivers, please, by all means, take your time. If you are planning that last trip before Labor Day, plan that well in advance. If you are driving in inclement weather, like rain, slow down. The road may be slick.”
As Michael Gilchrist is living proof of, wearing a seat belt might save a life. It’s a fact Edgeworth couldn’t stress enough.
“The best thing people can do to protect themselves is wear that seat belt,” Edgeworth said.
“Anytime we have a fatality, that’s terrible. Families are devastated by fatalities.
So we try to remind people to take care of themselves and buckle up. It’s just the best thing to do.”

‘Ladder Six’ rolls into Abbeville

Crew takes celebratory lap on town square

August 14, 2007

By MIKE ROSIER
Index-Journal staff writer

ABBEVILLE — A total of about 900 miles got the job done.
Abbeville Fire Department Chief Mason Speer Jr. and three other department members arrived on Friday with their brand new fire engine.
The vehicle was recently bought by the city from the Huntington Manor Fire District in Long Island, N.Y., for $315,000.
And while the 75-foot Simon Duplex/LTI fire engine is not off the showroom floor, it might as well have been for the looks it was receiving in town.
The vehicle/ladder combination is actually a 1996/1997 model.
On a small jaunt through the city with Abbeville City manager Nolan Wiggins, residents continued to stare at the city’s addition.
The looks were well deserved, as the truck replaces an antiquated 1955 aerial engine that had hardly been used by the department in recent years.
“We’re kind of proud of it,” Speer said. “We left at 3 a.m. Thursday morning. We had to leave that early to beat the rush hour traffic.”
Traveling with Speer were department members Neal Dickenson, Joe Merrifield and Mike Evans. The men shared the time spent behind the wheel, which was a heated affair despite the presence of air conditioning.
“It was so hot with the engine right there (located under the cab), so we suffered with that a little bit,” Speer said. “We ended up stopping around Hickory, North Carolina, because we couldn’t go any further that day.”
Speer said the truck is a welcome addition to the department.
“This is exactly what we needed,” he said.
The truck — with a ladder/hose combination that can fight structure fires with either water (370-gallon reserve) or foam (a 30-gallon capacity) — will also aid the department in its updated risk and safety rating.
The ladder was also extended for residents on Friday.
“One firefighter can operate the hose from down here, so no one even has to climb the ladder, but it can also be used for rescues as well,” Speer added. “This gives us more versatility and more options. It can be used for a myriad of things. This is just a more up to date piece of equipment.”
The Huntington Manor Fire District left behind about $15,000 worth of equipment on the truck.
Its equipment Speer won’t have to purchase.
“They were very gracious to us,” Speer said. “We’re very thankful for all they did in leaving us some of the equipment they did. They were wonderful to work with, and we’ve become very good friends through this.”
Wiggins said the city was extremely fortunate to have secured the truck.
“We were kind of lucky in that we stumbled on it when they were ready to sell it,” he said. “I was impressed with it. That truck is in great shape. Our fire protection capability just made about a 50-year leap forward.”
On Long Island, the truck’s call sign was “Ladder Six.”
Speer said it will keep that designation.

Obituaries

David Hayhurst

NINETY SIX — David Michael Hayhurst, 26, of 404 Herndon Drive, Ninety Six, died Sunday, Aug. 12, 2007.
Born in Washington, DC, he was a son of Michael Jay Hayhurst and Karen Elizabeth Myers. He was employed with XRI.
Surviving are his father of Ware Place; his mother of Elizabethtown, PA; his fiancé, Tammy Jones, of the home; two sons, Kaylep Hayhurst and Chase Hayhurst, both of the home; stepdaughters, Amber Jones, Candace Jones and Heather Jones, all of Ninety Six; a sister, Jessica Hayhurst and a brother, Phillip Hayhurst, both of Elizabethtown, PA.
The family will receive friends at the home, 404 Herndon Drive, Greenwood Shores, Ninety Six, on Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m.
Harley Funeral Home and Crematory is in charge of arrangements.

Melvin Groves Leverett

McCORMICK — Melvin Groves Leverett, 68, of McCormick, SC, entered into Heaven on Aug. 13, 2007. Born in Willington, SC, he was the son of Grace Lawton Moore of Augusta, GA, and the late Lum Leverett, Sr.
He is survived by two sisters, Sally Leverett Spikes of Augusta, GA, and Evelyn Leverett Lawton of McCormick, SC, and one brother, Lum Leverett, Jr. of Augusta. He is also survived by three children, Tammy Howard of Greenwood, Wayne Lawton and Debbie Deason, both of McCormick; six grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and a special friend and neighbor, Brenda Crump. He was a retired welder and construction worker. Melvin loved playing the guitar with friends, working on clocks and taking care of his Boston terrier, Gyp.
Arrangements are being taken care of by Strom Funeral Home of McCormick. A memorial service will be held at Jones Chapel on the Thompson Highway in Lincolnton, GA, on Wednesday, Aug. 15, at 6 p.m. Friends are welcome to visit at his Drennon Street residence in McCormick.

Joe Charles Tribble

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Mr. Joe Charles Tribble, 78, died Sunday, Aug. 12, 2007. He was preceded in death by his wife, Agnes Kimsey Tribble.
He was born in Greenwood, SC, and moved to Winston-Salem, NC, in 1953. He had 2 sons; 4 grandchildren; and 1 great-grandchild. He was a former Marine and a graduate of Clemson University.
Services will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2007 at Hayworth-Miller Funeral Home in Winston-Salem, NC. The family will receive friends 6-8 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home.

Woodrow Wells Jr.

Woodrow “Lil Wood” Wells Jr., 42, of 1121 Phoenix St., husband of Emma Jean Lawton Wells, died Sunday, Aug. 12, 2007, at Palmetto Health Richland Hospital in Columbia.
The family is at the home.
Robinson & Son Mortuary Inc., Greenwood, is in charge.

CORRECTION

For the obituary of Cynthia Witt in Monday’s paper, there was an error in the information given to The Index-Journal. Her apartment number should have been 313, at 230 E. Cambridge Ave.

Opinion

Taxpayers’ time, money should be politics-free

August 14, 2007

Some things, as they say, should not only look right, they should be right. That’s particularly pertinent where the taxpayers’ money is involved.
Take, for instance, a recent opinion by an attorney for the state Ethics Commission. She said state law may allow state workers to use taxpayer computers and time to promote presidential campaigns.
Her comment came after an Associated Press review of e-mails that showed former state Treasurer Thomas Ravenel exchanged messages promoting GOP presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani during office hours.
Interim Treasurer Ken Wingate told his staff that office computers could not be used for campaign purposes.
From all indications, Ravenel wasn’t the first state employee - elected, appointed, or hired - to send out political material on taxpayer computers during working hours.
Whether it’s OK or not, it’s something that definitely doesn’t look right.
If there is some question about the practice the Legislature would do well to make it clear that state equipment, facilities and time are for official use only ..... and no politics. Do it sooner, not later.