Columbia teen killed while driving wrong way on I-26
A wrong-way driver was killed after crashing head-on into a truck on Interstate 26 early Wednesday.
Austin William Dugar, 19, of Columbia, was stopped while trying to turn around to drive in the correct direction when he was hit and killed, according to a statement from the Lexington County Coroner’s office.
The crash happened around 5:20 a.m. in the westbound lanes of I-26 at mile marker 106, according to Lance Cpl. David Jones of the S.C. Highway Patrol.
A 2014 Chrysler sedan was traveling east in the westbound lanes when it crashed head-on into a westbound Toyota pickup, Jones said. The driver of the Chrysler, Dugar, was killed at the scene.
Dugar was wearing a seatbelt and was the only person in the vehicle, according to the coroner’s statement.
The driver of the Toyota received non-life threatening injuries and was taken to an area hospital, according to the coroner’s statement.
There had been 47 traffic deaths in Lexington County this year as of Monday, compared to 33 at the same time last year, according to the S.C. Department of Public Safety.
This story was originally published September 19, 2018 at 10:16 AM.