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Mother and young child identified as victims in traffic deaths west of Columbia

A woman and a young child have been identified as those killed in an automobile accident that tied up traffic for seven hours Thursday on Interstate 26 in the Chapin area.

LaRhonda Davis Gibson, 47, and 23-month-old Ketron Menteze Gibson Jr., died at the scene of the crash, the Lexington County Coroner’s office said. The Gibsons were from Newberry. LaRhonda Gibson was the child’s mother.

The wreck occurred after a pickup truck rear-ended a 2014 Nissan sedan, pushing the car into a tractor-trailer in front of it, the S.C. Highway Patrol said. The Nissan and tractor-trailer had slowed down as traffic was slowing on the interstate when the wreck occurred. The vehicles were driving west on I-26 about 2:45 a.m. Thursday.

Two people who were in the pickup truck were transported to an area hospital. The tractor trailer driver was not injured., authorities said.

This story was originally published August 30, 2024 at 10:00 AM.

Sammy Fretwell
The State
Sammy Fretwell has covered the environment beat for The State since 1995. He writes about an array of issues, including wildlife, climate change, energy, state environmental policy, nuclear waste and coastal development. He has won numerous awards, including Journalist of the Year by the S.C. Press Association in 2017. Fretwell is a University of South Carolina graduate who grew up in Anderson County. Reach him at 803 771 8537. Support my work with a digital subscription
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