Council presses for ambulance backups, stronger policy on transporting deceased and urges state action on Highway 378 safety

Several Marion County council members raised concerns about ambulance shortages and response delays after a recent crash on Highway 378, and urged stronger county policy and contingency plans while the county adds vehicles.

A council member said the county experienced a long delay during a crash on Highway 378, recounting that traffic was backed up and that local responders initially proposed moving a deceased person in a nonambulance vehicle. The council member said, "I think we need to make sure we have some strong policy in place, that we will not be transporting, deceased persons, in the back of trucks. It will only be transferred in, ambulances." He thanked volunteer fire departments and highway patrol for their response.

Officials stressed that Highway 378 is a state highway and noted a Change.org petition asking the county to widen the road to four lanes misstates local responsibility. One council member said, "That's a state highway... making that lane 4 lanes, is not in our purview." County staff said the South Carolina Department of Transportation (DOT) has short-term safety actions planned, while a long-term four-lane widening would be expensive and involve bridges and river crossings.

To address short-term ambulance capacity, staff said one new ambulance should arrive in roughly two weeks, and the county has discussed a plan to buy one ambulance per year as funding allows. The deputy administrator said staff will "look into that" and see whether renting or contracting with private ambulance providers for temporary backup is feasible. Staff also said they would consider how to codify the "no transport of deceased in trucks" policy into county policy.

No formal vote resulted from the discussion; staff were directed to explore contractual options and policy language and to report back.