SHELBY, N.C.,None — A Lincolnton lawyer was among three men who died in a crash on I-85 in South Carolina on Saturday.
Eddie W. Wyatt was driving a tractor-trailer southbound on the interstate when he veered off the right side of the road, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol and Coroner's Office. Wyatt, 69, swerved back onto the road toward the median, overcorrected and struck an SUV and Jeremy Scott Wilson's truck which was pulling a motorboat.
The 18-wheeler dragged the two vehicles across the median and into the northbound lanes where it collided with another tractor trailer.
Wyatt, Wilson and Clay Lashawn Johnson, the other tractor-trailer driver, were all killed.
The couple in the SUV, Curtis and Beverly Schulze, was flown to a nearby hospital.
Wilson, 33, was too young to die, according to his colleague, Richard Jonas.
"He's been just a wonderful partner, too young to have this happen," said Jonas. "He had his whole life ahead of him."
Wilson made partner at the Jonas Law Firm more than five years ago. He was a dedicated attorney, said Jonas.
"He made partner in our firm in a heartbeat," he said. "He's a great lawyer."
News of the young man's death hit hard, according to Jonas who held back his emotions while describing his partner.
Wilson and Jonas knew each other through work and the Rotary Club in Lincolnton.
While Wilson practiced in Lincolnton, he lived in Blacksburg, S.C. His wife, also an attorney, practices in Spartanburg.
Wilson enjoyed sports. He played basketball in college and was on a fishing trip when the crash happened, according to Jonas.
Wilson was a Campbell University graduate and practiced family law.
Jonas described Wilson as an outgoing man with a good sense of humor who will be sorely missed.
Jonas did not know any funeral arrangements as of Sunday evening.
Traffic on I-85 was snarled for hours as the entrapped couple was extracted from their car and flown to the hospital.
Wilson was also trapped in his Toyota truck.
Wyatt, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was ejected from the 18-wheeler.
Troopers went to work investigating the crash that happened just after 11 a.m.
The wreck is still under investigation.
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