“It is with unimaginable sadness that Sheriff Leon Lott announces the death of Deputy Jacob Eric Salrin from a fatal vehicle collision while on duty,” read a statement released by the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.
He was 23 years old. . .
The fatal crash took place at the intersection of Bluff Road and Windy Drive around 8:23 p.m. on Friday, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Salrin was driving west in a 2017 Ford sedan when he collided with a 2014 Volvo tractor trailer in the eastbound lane that was attempting to make a left turn across traffic onto Windy Drive. S.C. Deputy Killed in On-Duty Collision with Tractor Trailer
Because the bottom of a truck is higher than the bumper of passenger vehicles, when there is a collision the smaller vehicle easily slides under the truck and the first point of impact is the windshield. Seatbelts, airbags, and car crumple zones do not function as intended in underride crashes —front, side, and rear — leaving passenger vehicle occupants vulnerable to life-threatening injuries.
Deputy Jacob Eric Salrin, Precious One Gone Too Soon
AMERICA’S DANGEROUS TRUCKS (PBS/Frontline Underride Documentary)
See Underride Crash Memorials posted here and at #STOPunderrides Tweets. To add photos or more information on this story or to add other underride crashes to be remembered, send an email to underridemap@gmail.com. Please use this Interactive Underride Crash Map Crash Location Input Form to provide us with accurate information . (Note: the map is currently not online; but we would keep the information for future updating and to aid in underride advocacy efforts.)
Support improving Underride Protection on trailers: Contact your legislators with this User-Friendly TAKE ACTION online tool.
Please sign this petition: Secretary Pete, It’s Past Time To End Death By Underride!
Note: In order to raise awareness and preserve the memories of underride victims — precious ones gone too soon — I have been writing memorial posts on what could potentially be underride crashes. I am not a crash reconstructionist, and I do not have all the facts on these crashes; but underride should be investigated as a potential factor in truck crash injuries and deaths.
We are asking that people send us crash reports for collisions with trucks which they suspect involved underride. Send them to marianne@annaleahmary.com. We will submit these as complaints to USDOT. Read more here: Launching a Campaign To Flood NHTSA With Underride Complaint Reports.
