New Paris , OH : 24-year old Columbia man killed in Crash after slowed his truck to turn right into a private driveway and struck tractor trailer on Saturday ,March 21st 2015

A 24-year old Columbia man was killed in a two-vehicle crash at about 12:16 p.m. Saturday in the 5300 block of Paris Road.

John Severtsen was pronounced dead at the scene, a news release from the Columbia Police Department said. He was a passenger in a car driven by Nicole Weddington, 30, also of Columbia.

According to the accident report, Weddington was driving northbound on Paris Road behind a tractor-trailer driven by Darrel McKnight, 35, of Columbia, S.C. McKnight slowed his truck to turn right into a private driveway, but Weddington was unable to stop her vehicle and struck the tractor-trailer from behind, the release said.

Responders with the Columbia Fire Department were able to extricate Weddington from the car; she was taken by ambulance to University Hospital, where she was treated for minor injuries and released.

McKnight was not injured, nor was a passenger in his truck, Djuan Francois, 33, of Orlando, Fla.

Neither Severtsen nor Weddington were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash, and excessive speed was not a factor in the accident, the report said.

The report said McKnight was not impaired by drugs or alcohol, based on a chemical test of his breath. Toxicology results are pending from a test of Weddington’s blood taken while she was in the hospital, the report said.

source :
Columbia man dies in crash with tractor-trailer