J.L. Mann graduate among four USC Upstate students killed in crash
Four University of South Carolina Upstate students, including a Greenville man, died after a fiery crash early Sunday morning.
A car with five passengers was traveling on Fourth Street, near State 9, in Spartanburg around 1:45 a.m. Sunday when it left the road, struck a tree and caught fire, according to Lance Cpl. Gary Miller of the Highway Patrol.
One of the victims, 21-year-old James Campbell was from Greenville and attended J.L. Mann High School, according to information from USC Upstate.
Three of the vehicle’s occupants died at the scene. Two were injured and transported to the hospital. One of those two injured students later died, Whaley said.
Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger has identified two other victims as Joshua Lee, 20, of Spartanburg, and and Sarah Vande Berg, 21, of Zephyr Hills, Florida. Identification of the remaining victim is not yet available.
Following the crash, USC Upstate posted biographies of Vande Berg, Lee and Campbell to their website:
Sarah Vande Berg
Sarah Vande Berg was a kid at heart and a Disney fanatic. For her 21st birthday she wanted to celebrate with a trip to Disney and she was focused on using a degree in communications to land her dream job at the happiest place on Earth. An accomplished tennis player who first picked up a racket at age seven, Sarah passed away in the early morning hours on Sunday, October 11 following a car accident that claimed the lives of three other USC Upstate students and left one student in stable condition.
“Sarah was a wonderful daughter,” said Todd Vande Berg from his home in Zephyrhills, Fla. “She had an outgoing personality and she truly loved people. Sarah went to all the athletic events at USC Upstate to show support for all the sports. We witnessed her love for her fellow student athletes and their amazing support for her when we attended her tennis match two weeks ago. There were athletes from cross country, basketball and volleyball at Sarah’s tennis match.”
Sarah played tennis at Zephyrhills High School where she served as team captain and lettered all four years. She was a senior at USC Upstate majoring in communication.
USC Upstate tennis head coach Dr. Oliver Trittenwein said, “Sarah was one of my first recruits since moving to USC Upstate and one of the first American recruits. She immediately fit in and bonded with the team. She was very personable and loved by the men’s and women’s teams. She always made an effort with the new girls to the team and she would drive them to the grocery store and to go shopping. All the girls loved her and liked her and in turn, she cared for them.”
Michael Buchanan, a basketball player, said he remembers the first time he met Sarah. It was his first weekend at USC Upstate. “Sarah always had a smile on her face and was genuinely happy to see you,” Buchanan said. “She was the first person that weekend that came up to say hello to me.”
Buchanan said their friendship grew and that they would often laugh about their freshman year and people who had come and gone during their time as athletes. But he said they shared a lot of laughs and a lot of fun.
“She was a great person in general,” he said. “She was always up for doing anything and she never really got mad at you. Like this one time, my teammate Tristen and I told her if she didn’t stop messing with us we were going to pick her up and put her in the garbage can. We picked her up and started walking towards the garbage can and she just laughed.”
Buchanan said he will miss joking around with her and her witty comebacks.
Sarah is survived by parents, Charla and Todd Vande Berg, her sister, Emily and grandmother, Nadine Pierce. She was a member at New Walk Church.
By Tammy Whaley and Carolyn Farr-Shanesy of USC Upstate
Joshua Richard “Josh” Lee
Joshua Richard “Josh” Lee loved his family with all of his heart. He loved his cross country teammates at the University of South Carolina Upstate equally. Known for his infectious laughter and ability to make a friend out of a stranger, Josh passed away in the early morning hours Sunday following a car accident that claimed the lives of three other USC Upstate students and left one other in stable condition.
“If you knew Josh, you knew love. If you knew my son, you knew laughter,” said Laurie Lee. “Josh loved his family with all his heart and he treasured his teammates as family.”
“He was a proud to be a Spartan,” said his dad, Johnny Lee.
A native of Spartanburg, Josh graduated from Broome High School in 2013 and worked at White’s Pine Street Exxon. He was a junior at USC Upstate where he majored in physical education and served as an orientation leader.
“Josh was the most generous man I ever met in my entire life,” said Sam Cheshier, a soccer player at USC Upstate who also attended Broome High School. “Josh was the most unselfish guy I know.”
Josh is survived by his parents, Laurie and Johnny Lee; a sister, Macy Lee; two grandmothers Josephine Lee and Libby Floyd, three aunts, Tammy Jordan, April Clark and Lisa Davidson. He also is survived by his girlfriend, Courtney Reilly, a soccer player at USC Upstate.
“My brother was my better half. He was the peanut butter to my jelly. He has grown into a very special young man and he made us so proud. I will cherish the memories I had with him forever,” said Macy Lee.
A candlelight vigil will be held at the school’s soccer stadium at 7 p.m. today, Whaley said.
“There are no words to describe this loss to the USC Upstate family and no way to comfort the grieving families who have lost their loved ones," said USC Upstate Chancellor Tom Moore in a statement. "This tragedy will have tremendous impact on the Upstate community, individually and collectively.”
By Tammy Whaley and Carolyn Farr-Shanesy of USC Upstate
A candlelight vigil will be held at the school’s soccer stadium at 7 p.m. today, Whaley said.
“There are no words to describe this loss to the USC Upstate family and no way to comfort the grieving families who have lost their loved ones," said USC Upstate Chancellor Tom Moore in a statement. "This tragedy will have tremendous impact on the Upstate community, individually and collectively.”
Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.
This story was originally published October 12, 2015 at 9:23 AM with the headline "J.L. Mann graduate among four USC Upstate students killed in crash."