HAMPTON, CO. – A 16-year-old girl died on Thursday when her car collided with a diesel fuel tanker on the highway between Estill and Luray, Bluffton Today reports.
EMS officials say the accident happened around 8:51 a.m. when the high-school senior was driving north on U.S Highway 321 towards Luray. The adolescent’s car struck the side of a diesel tanker that was headed in the opposite direction towards Estill. The tanker truck ignited, and the car travelled under the tanker.
The coroner pronounced the adolescent driver dead at the scene of the accident.
Officials identified the truck driver as 37-year-old Brandon Belger. Belger exited the truck before the fire started, but he was taken to a local hospital for evaluation.
A hazardous materials team with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control arrived at the scene on Thursday and worked through Friday to clean up and contain the scene.
The incident remains under investigation.
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