#Socialites, this is so heartbreaking and devastating. Last week, a South Carolina teacher was killed after a utility pole that was struck by a truck went airborne. The woman’s family is now seeking $100 million for her estate following the tragic freak accident.
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The woman has been identified as 31-year-old Jeunelle Robinson, who was a social studies teacher at Wagener-Salley High School in Wagener, South Carolina, which sits about 40 miles southwest of Columbia.
On August 23, the teacher was on her lunch break, walking down the street when she was hit by a utility pole that went flying in the air at an intersection after a tractor-trailer sent eight poles airborne.
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It is reported that the truck got caught onto the power lines which caused all of the poles connected to go flying around and come crashing down. Tragically, one of the poles struck by the truck hit the beloved teacher.
According to South Carolina Highway Patrol Lance Corporal Brittany Glover, the deadly and heartbreaking freak accident happened around 12:30 p.m. as a 2014 Peterbilt 18-wheeler traveling northbound on South Carolina Highway 113 struck “low hanging power lines” near the Pickens Street intersection in Wagener.
The next thing that happened in the fatal chain of events was a utility pole falling on Robinson, who was walking southbound along the S.C. 113 roadway. When local police and paramedics arrived to the scene, Robinson was located and rushed to Aiken Regional hospital, and then flown to Augusta University Medical Center. Sadly, she was later pronounced dead, per Glover.
Speaking with local news, witnesses told WRDW/WAGT that they saw Robinson try to rush out of the way of the flying pole, but sadly she wasn’t able to get away quick enough. One witness and local in Wagener, Richard Steadman, said, “You can see the power poles and power lines was on the ground. And then all the first responders come flooding in.”
The local power company, Dominion Energy, said that the truck struck several utility poles in the area and brought down energized lines, leaving about 25 customers without power. Speaking on the incident, Mayor Michael Miller said, “It shut down the whole middle of town for several hours but we had plenty of help volunteers just off the street. Our fire department is excellent. Our police department is excellent and they did a good job.”
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The high school where Robinson worked was also placed on a soft lockdown due to the proximity of the accident to the school. Since the passing of Robinson, school officials had also canceled after-school activities that day, as well as the football game that was scheduled two days later.
And in support of the high school’s loss, the Busbee Elementary School also postponed their Open House. In a statement released to students and their families, the Wagner Salley High School said, “This tragedy is devastating to all of us as Ms. Robinson was in her second year teaching social studies at Wagener-Salley. Over the past year, she became friends with numerous colleagues and developed meaningful relationships with many of our students. Genuine and sweet to everyone she encountered, her time here at our school and on this earth feels much too short.”
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