25-year-old father, nicknamed ‘Turtle Man,’ killed in crash near Midlands road
A Midlands man died after a crash in which the SUV he was driving flipped over, officials said.
Harlon Drew was identified as the man who was killed, according to Kershaw County Coroner David West.
The 25-year-old Elgin resident was nicknamed “Turtle Man,” according to his obituary, which said he loved animals, fishing, shooting, Clemson football and being with his son.
At about 10 p.m. Thursday, Drew was driving a 2004 Chevrolet Tahoe on Twenty Five Mile Road, near the intersection with Kelly Mill Road, said Lance Cpl. Nick Pye of South Carolina Highway Patrol. That’s in Kershaw County, near Lake Carolina.
The SUV ran off the left side of the road and overturned, according to Pye.
Drew, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the Chevy and later taken to a hospital in Columbia where he died, West said.
No other injuries were reported.
A funeral service will be held for Drew at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at the Shives Funeral Home’s Trenholm Road Chapel in Columbia, according to his obituary.
There was no word on what caused the SUV to veer off the road, but the collision is being investigated by Highway Patrol.
Through Friday afternoon, 742 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2021, state Department of Public Safety data shows. Of those, 500 of the victims had access to seat belts, but 248 were not wearing them, DPS reported.
At least 15 people have been killed in Kershaw County crashes in 2021, and 11 of them were not wearing seat belts, DPS reported.
