Unfortunately, this weekend was a tragic one on South Carolina roads. Officials have reported that at least nine people were killed in South Carolina car accidents over the weekend, including two teenage girls.

Officials said the two teens were killed when the car they were riding in veered off the road, flipped and collided with a tree in St. Helena Island on Saturday evening. A third teenage girl sitting in the back seat was injured in the wreck and was flown to Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah for treatment.

Police are still investigating the accident. They said that no causing factors have been established at this time, and it appears that all three of the girls were wearing seat belts at the time of the wreck. All three attended Beaufort High School.

On Friday night around 8:30 p.m., an accident in Anderson County claimed the lives of a 41-year-old man and 14-year old girl from Piedmont. Then, around 3:40 a.m. on Saturday, a 38-year-old man died in a Lexington County wreck. Later that day, two Greenwood men were reportedly killed in a crash in McCormick County.

Early on Sunday, a 46-year of Rock Hill man was killed in a single-vehicle accident on Highway 49, and two other fatal accidents were reported the same morning in Florence and Dorchester counties.

Losing a loved one in a car accident is an extremely painful experience, both emotionally and financially. Oftentimes, family members lose the income of a provider or could be forced to take time off from their own jobs to deal with the grief resulting from the death.

When the fatal accident was the result of negligence on behalf of another driver, the family is sometimes able to collect damages in a wrongful death lawsuit that can help support the family financially with good estate planning during this difficult time.