By David Travis Bland
The State (Columbia, S.C.)
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Gusting wind blew a shipping container off a tractor-trailer and onto a Charleston, SC, Police Department squad car Saturday, smashing the police car.
No one was injured in the mishap, which the police department reported on social media, along with a photo of the heavily damaged car.
The extraordinary collision happened on the Interstate 526 bridge that crosses the Wando River in Charleston County and connects Daniels Island with Mount Pleasant.
After the container smashed into the passenger side of the police car, it slid off bridge and into the river, according to police.
The container that hit the police car wasn’t the only one blown off a truck, according to Charleston police. “Multiple” containers and semitrailers were overturned, closing the Don Holt and Wando bridges.
Many parts of the Carolinas experienced high winds since Friday evening and Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
In Charleston, meteorologists recorded a dozen gusts of 35 to 55 mph. One gust recorded on Fort Sumter reached 64 mph, which is the same wind speed as a strong tropical storm.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=675196670351246 https://www.facebook.com/CityofCharlestonPD/posts/328281589331581
(c)2022 The State (Columbia, S.C.)