Woman walks away from I-85 accident, then struck and killed by tractor-trailer
By TIM GULLA Ledger Staff Writer tim@gaffneyledger.com

A 37-year-old Gaffney woman, who was lucky enough to walk away from an early morning crash on Interstate 85 was killed a short time later when she was struck by a tractor-trailer.

Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler said Sharon Warlick Byers, of 1022 W. Buford St., died from massive trauma.

The tragic events began unfolding around 1 a.m. when Byers, who was driving a 1997 Ford Taurus, was initially involved in a collision with a tractor-trailer in the southbound lanes of Interstate 85 between the 98- and 99-mile markers, about 3.2 miles north of Blacksburg, according to Lance Cpl. Ron Johnson of the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

Fowler said Byers' vehicle came to rest in the median. She got out of her car and then crossed the highway to the location of the truck involved in the collision, where Fowler said she spoke to the truck driver.

Johnson said Byers then began heading south along the interstate on foot and was struck in the driving lane by another southbound tractor-trailer, a 2000 Mack truck belonging to FedEx Ground Packaging Systems of Fort Wayne, Ind., and driven by Balmoris Castillo of Charlotte.

No charges have been filed, Johnson said.

While Byers was wearing a white and pink T-shirt and white tennis shoes, he said she did not have reflective clothing.

Fowler ruled the death accidental but did not close the investigation, as he ordered some follow-up tests.

Byers was Cherokee County's first traffic fatality of 2008.

Eighteen people died on Cherokee County roadways in 2007.