Early-morning car crash in the Midlands kills driver, injures passenger

The South Carolina Highway Patrol is investigating a crash that killed the driver of an SUV near Orangeburg early Saturday morning.

The passenger, a Charleston resident, survived the crash but was injured and transported to a hospital in Augusta, Georgia, by helicopter.

At approximately 5:30 a.m., the 2015 Toyota SUV was traveling west toward Orangeburg on U.S. 178, Charleston Highway, near Canaan Road when the accident occurred, according to Highway Patrol Master Trooper Mitchell Ridgeway.

The car traveled off the roadway to the right, hitting a ditch and then a tree, Ridgeway said.

The driver was pronounced dead the scene. Their identity was not released by Highway Patrol. The State has contacted the Orangeburg County Coroner’s Office.

Highway Patrol did not indicate that any other vehicles were involved in the crash, which took place approximately 2 miles southeast of Orangeburg.

Ted Clifford

The State

803-771-8315

Ted Clifford is the statewide accountability reporter at The State Newspaper. Formerly the crime and courts reporter, he has covered the Murdaugh saga, state and federal court, as well as criminal justice and public safety in the Midlands and across South Carolina. He is the recipient of the 2023 award for best beat reporting by the South Carolina Press Association.