ST. GEORGE, SC. (THECOUNT) — Earl Gill III, 55, of Ehrhardt, South Carolina, has been identified as the man killed Friday night when the 18-wheeler he was driving was struck by a train near St. George in Dorchester County.
The deadly collision occurred at approximately 6:30 p.m. September 18 at a railroad crossing on Gum Branch Road off Highway 78, according to the Dorchester County Coroner’s Office.
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Gill was driving the tractor-trailer when he crossed the railroad tracks and was struck by the train, according to the coroner’s office.
The Dorchester County Coroner pronounced Gill dead at the scene at approximately 7:45 p.m.
The collision brought emergency crews to the railroad crossing as authorities investigated the fatal wreck. Details surrounding why the tractor-trailer entered the crossing and the circumstances immediately before the train struck the truck remained under investigation.
An autopsy is scheduled to be performed at a later date at the Medical University of South Carolina, according to the coroner’s office.
The South Carolina Highway Patrol and Dorchester County Coroner’s Office are investigating the collision. No additional information about possible citations or charges had been released.
Gill was from Ehrhardt, a small community in Bamberg County, South Carolina. The crash occurred in the St. George area of Dorchester County, approximately 50 miles northwest of Charleston.
Gum Branch Road connects with Highway 78 in the St. George area, where the railroad crossing is located. The exact circumstances of the crossing collision remain part of the ongoing investigation.
St. George is located in the South Carolina Lowcountry, northwest of Charleston and southeast of Orangeburg, placing the fatal crash within the broader Charleston metropolitan region.
Google Maps: Gum Branch Road near Highway 78, St. George, SC
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