Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009

West Columbia man dies in Eastover dump truck wreck

A 40-year-old West Columbia man died after being thrown from a dump truck that overturned Monday morning near Eastover.

The man, identified as Gene Brown by his sister, was a passenger in the truck, driven by James O'Neil, 46, of Orangeburg. O'Neil was wearing a seat belt and was not injured, S.C. Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Josef Robinson said.

Brown was not wearing a seat belt.

The other passenger, Travis Thomas, 28, of Columbia, was also not wearing a seat belt and taken to Palmetto Health Richland with injuries. His condition was not immediately available.

The wreck occurred on Watermelon Hill Road off Garners Ferry Road. The truck was heading south when it went off the right side of the road around 11:30 a.m., over-corrected to the left and flipped.

-- Kelly Davis

Vicinity of Watermelon Hill Road
View Larger Map

Get The State newspaper delivered to your home. Click here to subscribe.