‘Devastating day’: Man killed trying to help trucker
By Bobby Bryant, Editor, editor@newsandpress.net
“If he could help, he would help,” Dariasha James says of her cousin Milton B. McGee of Society Hill.
Milton McGee in a self-portrait on Facebook
On May 21, that urge to help cost McGee his life.
McGee, a 47-year-old truck driver, was trying to aid the driver of a disabled tractor-trailer on U.S. 52 in Society Hill when a pickup truck slammed into him and killed him, officials said.
“It was a devastating day yesterday in Society Hill,” James said the day after the predawn accident.
“You could feel the vibe,” she said. “He was well-known around Society Hill. … It was a sad day.
“You could tell everybody was down, shocked, upset, crazy. It was a mess.”
The incident began about 5 a.m. last Tuesday near the intersection of U.S. 52 and U.S. 15, officials said.
The tractor-trailer driver – a relative of McGee’s, according to James – had pulled out of a private driveway when his rig broke down. Lanes of traffic were blocked, officials said.
The S.C. Highway Patrol said that a “pedestrian,” later identified as McGee, approached the truck to help the driver.
James said it wasn’t clear whether McGee had been on foot or whether he had stopped his vehicle to help.
McGee was standing near the disabled tractor-trailer when he was struck by the driver of a Dodge pickup truck traveling southbound on U.S. 52, officials said.
According to James, the pickup pinned McGee beneath the tractor-trailer.
McGee was taken to McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence, where he was pronounced dead, said Darlington County Coroner Todd Hardee.
The pickup’s driver was taken to an area hospital. His condition was not known, and it was not known if he would be facing any charges.
James said McGee had lived in Society Hill, a town of about 500 people, all of his life – “He was born and raised there.”
She said he was single and had three children.
“He’s an ‘all-around’ person,” said James. “You would never see him with a sad face. … Always happy, no matter what.”
“He threw the best parties,” James said. “The best cookouts. He was an outgoing person, real outgoing. There was never a dull moment with him there.”
