Richland County coroner identifies five victims killed in floods

Richland County Coroner Gary Watts on Monday afternoon announced five deaths in Richland County related to the historic rainfall and flooding that pounded South Carolina over the weekend.

Five Columbia residents were found dead in their vehicles on Sunday, Watts said in a release. An unidentified sixth victim was found later Monday.

Alex Holmes, 24, was found dead in her vehicle on Sunday night on Sunset Boulevard. A GoFundMe page set up to pay for the cost of Holmes' funeral had raised nearly $13,000 on Monday afternoon.

Robert McCarty, 78, was found dead in his vehicle on Devine Street on Sunday night.

Melissa Hall, 35, was found dead in her vehicle at Shady Lane and Kilbourne Road early Monday morning.

Robert Allawos, 60, was found dead in his vehicle Monday morning at Caughman and Teague roads.

SCDOT highway worker Timothy Gibson, 45, was found dead in his vehicle Sunday night on Garners Ferry Road between Chanwood Drive and Congress Road. Gibson was working with an SCDOT crew near Garners Ferry Road in Columbia when his truck was flipped and swept away by flood waters, said Pete Poore, the SCDOT communications director.

Gibson had been a highway worker at the SCDOT since February 2013. Gibson lived in Columbia and had a wife and three children. A GoFundMe page has been set up for his family.

A sixth victim was discovered later Monday. An 82-year-old man who had been missing was found dead in his vehicle which had been underwater on Peeples Street, said Richland County Sheriff's Department Public Information Officer Curtis Wilson. The victim wasn't identified and no further details were available as of Monday night.

Gov. Nikki Haley said in a press conference early Monday afternoon the number of flood-related deaths in South Carolina was up to nine. Five were drownings, and the other four were traffic accidents, Haley said.

None of those flood-related deaths were in Lexington County, Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher said early Monday afternoon.

This story was originally published October 5, 2015 at 12:12 PM with the headline "Richland County coroner identifies five victims killed in floods."