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Morgan crash Comedian in critical but stable condition; trucker reportedly lacked sleep A4 TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2014
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Driver in I-95 wreck dies 20-year-old was in critical condition BY BRISTOW MARCHANT bmarchant@theitem.com (803) 774-1272 The tragedy of a single-car wreck that killed a young girl last week was compounded when the driver of the vehicle also succumbed to her injuries. Courtney Nicole Parsons, 20, of Manning, died early Sunday morning at Medical University of South Carolina Hospital in Charleston, almost three days after she was airlifted from the scene of the wreck on Interstate 95 that took the life of one child and injured another. Clarendon County Coroner Hayes Samuels said he was notified that Parsons died about 2 a.m. Sunday. No formal cause of death was determined pending an autopsy to be performed in Charleston on Monday, but Parsons had been in critical condition since her Ford F-250 left the roadway and hit a tree. “It’s just a real tragedy,” Samuels said. Parsons had to be cut from the cab of the vehicle by emergency responders, who arrived on the scene near the 112-mile marker shortly after 12:45 p.m. Thursday. There were two children in the car whom she had reportedly been baby-sitting at the time of the crash. The older child, Mettie Livingston, 7, was pronounced dead at the scene, while a 4-year-old boy was also flown to MUSC from the wreckage. Investigators with S.C. Highway Patrol are working to determine the cause of the wreck. Members of the MultiDisciplinary Accident Investigation Team were on scene shortly after the crash gathering information to later create a virtual re-creation of the wreck. The truck’s onboard
SEE WRECK, PAGE A4
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Payment, please Tuomey will ask for money during ER visits BY JADE REYNOLDS jade@theitem.com (803) 774-1250 Starting Monday, Tuomey Regional Medical Center’s Emergency Department is adopting a new billing policy and will start asking patients for their insurance information and the appropriate co-pays after they’re seen in the emergency room. “Right now, we don’t ask for money,” said Mark Lovell, chief financial offi-
cer and vice president of administration at Tuomey Healthcare System. “We don’t collect money at all. That is about to change. Emergency rooms across the country are doing this. In Alabama, we’ve been doing this for years — collecting money on the back end — but it will be a big change for Sumter.” He came to Tuomey in April 2012 after serving for more than six years as CFO at two hospitals in Alabama that were managed by the same company.
The way it will work is once the physician and nurses are done seeing and treating the patient, a staff member will wheel in a cart to get the individual’s insurance information, Lovell said. “If they don’t have insurance, we can help people sign up for Medicaid or other insurances,” he said. There is no change to the admittance policy, Lovell said, and payment plans will still be available as will Charity
SEE TUOMEY, PAGE A4
Skeletal remains found in Alcolu
BRADEN BUNCH / THE SUMTER ITEM
Investigators search through the Clarendon County forest for additional evidence that could aid them in identifying human remains originally found in the wooded area by hunters Sunday.
Preliminary forensic reports expected sometime this week BY BRADEN BUNCH bbunch@theitem.com (803) 774-1201 ALCOLU — Partial human skeletal remains found by hunters during the weekend in a Clarendon County forested area had law enforcement returning to the scene Monday morning, hoping to discover more clues into the identity and cause of death of the apparently long-missing person.
Investigators first responded to the wooded area about 75 feet from Tearcoat Road in Alcolu on Sunday, after two snake hunters first located the human remains. Maj. Kipp Coker of Clarendon County Sheriff’s Office said his deputies, along with officers from State Law Enforcement Division, first responded to the scene Sunday, roping off and marking the area before sending the remains to the Medical University of South Car-
olina for forensic analysis. Monday morning, deputies returned to the scene with a cadaver dog from North Carolina to see if they could find additional remains. Within five minutes of beginning the search, the cadaver dog named Jorga had discovered additional bones, which Coker said they think are from the same person. This new discovery Monday prompted
SEE BONES, PAGE A9
2nd week rakes in more money, especially for homeless shelter BY JADE REYNOLDS jade@theitem.com (803) 774-1250 United Ministries of Sumter County has been busy again this past week. “A woman and her children were separated due to a fire,” said Mark Champagne, executive director. “Family members did not have room for all of them. We normally do not assist with deposits, but we
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may when someone has a fire. We were able to assist with $300, and she moved in and was reunited with her children.” Another person was about to be evicted, and the nonprofit provided $300 to prevent it. Another individual was provided medicine. You can be a positive part of such stories by giving to Summer of Caring, a partnership between The Sumter Item and
United Ministries. Similar to the publication’s long-running tradition of Fireside Fund, which is a partnership between the newspaper and The Salvation Army to provide funds for heating needs in the winter, The Sumter Item collects money to donate to United Ministries. The new
DEATHS, B6 Barbara Moorer Thomas B. Holladay Jr. Lillian A. McBride Frances Anderson
Sarah W. McBride Lillie Mae Spain Kenneth N. Rodgers Sr. John F. Barto
program helps in three areas: Crisis Relief Ministry, Home Repair and Wheelchair Ministry and the Homeless Shelter. In its second week, Summer of Caring collected $667. “We are about to spend approximately $27,000 next week on home repair and have approximately 150 volunteers working 40-plus hours,” Champagne said. The organization will conduct a second Summer Restore
starting June 23. About 70 beds were used at the shelter last week. “We have a person at the shelter that has a business and a church working with him,” Champagne said. “He was helped with clothing and found employment. I heard the church members and business owner showed up at the restaurant where he is employed
SEE CARING, PAGE A9
WEATHER, A10
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Look for a thunderstorm this afternoon and tonight HIGH 94, LOW 72
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