2 hit by car while crossing busy street

Belton White / The Item A witness said this Buick sedan hit two pedestrians on Washington Street at Hampton Avenue on Wednesday afternoon.

By JOE PERRY and BELTON WHITE
Item Staff Writers
jperry@theitem.com

A man and a woman walking across North Washington Street were struck by a car Wednesday afternoon and are in serious condition, officials said.

A report says Sherry Lynne Gilliam, 56, and Jerome Black, 52, both of Garden Circle Apartments, 202 E. Liberty St., were walking across North Washington Street when the collision occurred. Black and Gilliam were traveling from east to west just south of North Washington Street's intersection with West Hampton Avenue when they were struck by a 1999 Buick driven by Susan Roberts, 60, of 1334 Reona Ave. Roberts was heading south on North Washington, the report shows.

"They were not in the crosswalk from what we gather," said Sumter police Cpl. Paul Gay about an hour after the 2:18 p.m. incident.

Cpl. C.J. Lyons' report shows Gilliam and Black failed to yield right of way and also shows road conditions were dry with clear weather at the time.

Karen Cotton, 46, of Sumter, was driving a 1995 custom GMC van to a doctor's appointment at Tuomey Regional Medical Center and was traveling in the opposite direction of Roberts. Cotton saw the collision and said Gilliam and Black were in the crosswalk and about halfway across North Washington Street when they were hit.

"The next thing I know, the car in the left-hand lane hit them," Cotton said. "She didn't even hit the brakes. It was like bam, bam and they went over the hood. They looked like rag dolls. It was a sight I never want to see again."

Cotton said she put her van in park and ran out to the fallen pedestrians.

"The female wasn't conscious. She was out the whole time," she said, while Black was conscious. "They looked liked crash dummies being hit by a car, went over the hood, flying."

Cotton was visibly upset at the scene, and could not hold back tears while recalling the incident.

"I was screaming and crying," she said. "I had to calm myself down."

Gilliam and Black were both transported by Sumter County Emergency Medical Services to Tuomey Regional Medical Center, and Gilliam was then airlifted to Palmetto Health Richland in Columbia. Officials said Wednesday afternoon that Black was in serious condition while Gilliam was in critical condition.

The tri-county region has had several recent cases of pedestrians being struck by vehicles. According to authorities:

  A 20-year-old Alcolu man was killed at night on Oct. 15 when an SUV struck him while he was walking along Hotel Street near his home.

  A 56-year-old Sumter man was killed in the predawn hours Oct. 12 when a dump truck struck him while he was walking along U.S. 76/378 (Broad Street Extension) near Nort St. Pauls Church Road.

  A Sumter police officer was cited for failure to yield right of way after he struck a 68-year-old woman while trying to turn his patrol car onto McCrays Mill Road out of Sumter High the morning of Sept. 11.

  A 52-year-old Sumter man was killed after he was struck by a pickup truck while walking along Red Bay Road at night on June 27.

In the three fatal crashes, the South Carolina Highway Patrol determined that the drivers were not at fault because the pedestrians were wearing dark clothing and walked in the path of the vehicles, in each case not allowing the driver enough time to avoid the collision, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.



Contact Senior Staff Writer Joe Perry at jperry@theitem.com or (803) 774-1272.