Driver's diabetes-related blackout caused I-26 accident
Updated 02:00 p.m., March 31, 2008
SUMMERVILLE — A diabetes-related blackout caused a driver to crash as he merged onto Interstate 26 from U.S. Highway 17 this morning, authorities said.
Charles L. Dutton, 57, of Summerville drove off the acceleration lane and overturned several times in a full-size 1995 Ford pickup belonging to Banks Construction Co., said Cpl. Paul Brouthers of the Highway Patrol. Dutton, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the truck and briefly pinned underneath it until rescue crews pulled him out. A trooper used a fire extinguisher to put out a small fire.
Troopers cited Dutton for a seat-belt violation, Brouthers said. He was transported to Medical University Hospital, where officials confirmed that he blacked out because of his medical condition.
He was listed in critical condition at the hospital that afternoon.
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Comments
This article has 5 comment(s)
Posted by yeayea on March 31, 2008 at 3:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Disgruntled former employee?
Posted by SomeTruthPlease on March 31, 2008 at 5:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Mr. Banks is one of the nicest people I've ever met, but I will say this...if there are employees that are not up to par medically, they need to be kept from being behind the wheel...many of their vehicles are very large. Diabetes is silent and deadly...in this instance, it could have been deadly to anyone within proximity of his truck. My son doesn't drive because of his epilepsy. It is not a huge possibility that he will have a seizure while driving, but it isn't worth the risk. How many people on the roads do not take care of their insulin levels, and are on the roads, at risk of losing consciousness? Plenty, I can assure you. I also doubt that this fella didn't know he had diabetes. I do believe he also has health insurance, so not being able to get his insulin is a poor excuse. There are ways and means of getting the meds that you need, even if it means standing in a long line. I think his license will be gone for 6 months at this point. As for being a disgruntled former employee? He probably is now, and it's his own fault.
Posted by fbart on March 31, 2008 at 5:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I do beleive the comments posted were by an angry employee I also beleive you should know the facts to the ENTIRE story before blowing off about something you are most likely not educated in..Banks Cont. is a great company and
there are many people who work with different illness',and for any reason at all at any time something can go wrong, So I sugguest you research a few things before making such opitions...which is what they are...opitions
Posted by SomeTruthPlease on March 31, 2008 at 6:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree, fbart...I am definitely not an angry employee...we've been good friends with the Banks' family for many, many years. I think that a lackadaisical approach to diabetes management is a huge problem. It is true that we may not know all of the details, but I've got a mother-in-law in the hospital as we speak that has been in and out of the hospital for 2 months with her foot...half of it has been removed. Not even 60 years old, and because she wanted to pretend the condition didn't exist, in my opinion, because she wanted attention, she's become a blind, feeble, old woman. I'm so mad at her I could be sick. I was hoping that our parents would be in their 70s or 80s before they needed "to be taken care of"...but because of her mismanagement of her health care needs, she has already become a burden to her children. At 59!!! Her children better love her, because they're about to live without their spouses. That woman was blind as a bat because she let her levels get out of whack before, but now she can't see her hand in front of her face...she's a needy paperweight. I'm angry, and have every right to be. If I saw her even ATTEMPT to get behind the wheel of a car, I'd remove the wheels and call the police. If you have a medical condition, any at all, that cause lapses in judgment, problems with consciousness, you should have to surrender your license. The DMV only asks if you've lost consciousness in the last 3 years. It is up to the individual to answer honestly.
Posted by SomeTruthPlease on March 31, 2008 at 6:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Oh, and for the record-if he had killed someone, or maimed someone...who would be paying??? Mr. Banks' insurance...yes, he has a fantastic company that he built from the ground up, but his entire livelihood should not rest on employees that don't take responsibility for their health care needs. I'm not saying that this particular employee hasn't taken care of himself, but he has diabetes, that's been established, and obviously hadn't checked his sugar level.