Richland County man killed when truck hits ditch

A driver was killed after hitting a ditch in eastern Richland County on Saturday, according to the S.C. Highway Patrol.

The deadly crash happened just after 1 p.m. on Congress Road near Old Leesburg Road, according to Lance Cpl. Matt Southern of the Highway Patrol.

A 1999 Dodge Ram was traveling north on Congress Road when the pickup went off the left side of the road and overturned into a ditch, Southern said. The driver, who was wearing a seat belt, was taken to Palmetto Health Richland hospital and later pronounced dead.

Richland County Coroner Gary Watts on Sunday identified the driver as 55-year-old Lonzie Joseph Fox, of Craft Acres Road in Eastover. The cause of death was total body blunt trauma, Watts said.

There have been 32 traffic deaths in Richland County this year as of Sept. 17, compared to 39 at the same time last year, according to numbers from the S.C. Department of Public Safety.

This story was originally published September 23, 2018 at 10:35 AM.