2 die as disabled car hit on Interstate 95

COOSAWATCHIE, S.C. (AP) — Two people have died after a pickup truck ran into a tow truck helping a disabled vehicle on Interstate 95 near Walterboro.

The Island Packet of Hilton Head reports (http://bit.ly/q4am5xs) the accident happened Saturday night.

Jasper County Coroner Martin Sauls identified the victims as 52-year-old Phyllis Amsler Cook of Beaufort and her friend, 55-year–old Denise Peeples Smith, the owner of East Coast Recovery, a Beaufort towing company.

The highway patrol reports a pickup truck veered off the northbound lane into the vehicle being assisted. The women were standing next to the tow truck. The coroner said Cook was killed instantly while Smith died at a hospital Sunday.

The driver of the pickup truck was hospitalized in Walterboro. The coroner said his injuries were not life threatening.

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Information from: The Island Packet, http://www.islandpacket.com