West Liberty Street slowed to a crawl Thursday morning as emergency crews worked the scene of a wreck in which a City of Sumter vehicle slammed all the way into an old furniture store.
At least three people were transported to the hospital before 10:45 a.m. after the truck, which appeared to be a city truck that pulls tree logs on a hitched trailer, came to rest inside McDuffie’s Priced Rite Furniture at the corner of Liberty and Walker Avenue, which is just before Guignard Drive.
It appeared the truck was heading west on Liberty when it went off the road to the right. It drove through a power pole, clearing the bottom half from the top. The top half was seen hanging without a connection to the ground.
Both sides of the brick building were knocked out, and the blinking red lights were still flashing from the truck as it sat inside.
McDuffie’s no longer operates from that location. The owner had been notified.
A man was taken on a stretcher to an ambulance. He was strapped down with a neck brace and was secured. A woman was also seen being taken to an ambulance sitting up on a stretcher. She appeared to be conscious and talking. A second man was also transported after being checked out by EMS personnel as he stood on his own.
Firefighters were seen bringing the jaws of life tool into the building.
A man who was working at a building across the street said he did not see the wreck happen but that he heard it.
“It sounded like a bomb,” he said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the wreck.
Liberty Street heading west is closed to traffic, and it is slow heading east.
Tonyia McGirt, public information officer for the Sumter Police Department, said the South Carolina Highway Patrol will investigate the incident because it involved a city vehicle and employees.
Stay tuned for updates.
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