Military family killed in Upstate wreck in Cherokee south carolina

South Carolina Highway Patrol troopers are investigating a fatal wreck that killed three members of a military family, including an infant, and shut down part of Interstate 85 Tuesday night.The accident happened at the 97 mile marker near Pleasant School Road and Shelby Highway shortly after 8 p.m.

Trooper Billy Elder said a pickup truck traveling northbound crossed the median and hit a tractor-trailer head-on in the southbound lane.United State Marine Corporal Luther Smith IV, 22, his wife Angelica, 20, and their 6-month-old son Preston were killed, according to Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler. All three died from blunt force trauma prior to the fire, Fowler said.

The driver and passenger in the tractor- trailer were not hurt, Elder said."The vehicles burst into flames on impact," Fowler said.
Fowler said the Smiths had been in Alabama visiting family and were headed back to a military base in Quantico, Virginia.

All southbound lanes were shut down for several hours while crews cleared the scene. The interstate reopened about 2 a.m., according to troopers.Elder said the highway patrol's MAIT team will investigate the accident.Fowler told News4's Mike McCormick that there have been 13 fatal accidents on I-85 in Cherokee County since 2009. Fowler said he believes widening that part of the interstate would cut down on the number of accidents.

With that kind of congestion and that kind of traffic between Atlanta and Charlotte, and points to the north, it's only going to get worse," said Fowler.

A representative from the South Carolina Department of Transportation said there is no plan to widen that part of the interstate in the next five years, but plans are under way to resurface the area.