4 wrecks tie up I-26 commuters

The rush-hour commute can be difficult on the best of days, but when there are nearly a dozen wrecked vehicles -- including a firetruck -- on the main route into Charleston, the highway quickly can turn into one big parking lot.

That's what happened Wednesday morning when four accidents involving 11 vehicles backed up eastbound Interstate 26 traffic for more than an hour.

The bottleneck began about 8 a.m. when eight vehicles were involved in a series of three accidents between the Spruill Avenue and Rutledge Avenue exits, said Charles Francis, public information officer for Charleston police.

It appears those wrecks were caused by motorists following too closely, Francis said. Five people were taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

Among the vehicles was a firetruck responding to the initial wreck. The truck had minor damage to one of its steps, said Mark Ruppel, public information officer for the Fire Department.

Ruppel said the wreck occurred when another vehicle pulled in front of the firetruck. The driver of the truck was not charged, Francis said.

As authorities were clearing the first three wrecks about 9:15 a.m., a fourth accident involving three vehicles was reported at the same spot, about a mile from the Rutledge Avenue exit. Francis said that wreck was caused by motorists slowing and looking at the accident.

Police issued multiple citations in all of the wrecks, he said.

Reach Andy Paras at 937-5589, aparas@postandcourier.com or on twitter at twitter.com/andyparas.