Greenwood High plans memorial for student killed in Lexington crash

Greenwood High School will hold a memorial service Monday morning for a student killed in a car crash Friday in Lexington.

Stephen Gunnells, 16, was a member of the school's marching band, according to The Greenwood Index-Journal.

Gunnells and his grandparents, Harry Gunnells, 73, and Barbara Gunnells, 74, both of Saluda, were killed in a four-vehicle crash in Lexington just before 6 p.m. Friday. Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher said the wreck happened at the 2400 block of U.S. 378.

According to preliminary information about the crash from the S.C. Highway Patrol, all four vehicles were traveling on U.S. 378 in Lexington; three were headed east and the fourth, a Chevy pickup, was headed west.

The pickup truck, driven by Robert H. Moore, Jr., 62, of Batesburg-Leesville, crossed the center line and side-swiped the first vehicle, a Ford van. The van spun out of control and collided with the second vehicle, a GMC SUV. The pickup continued down the road and ran into the Gunnells’ vehicle, which caught fire.

The Gunnells all died at the scene, Fisher said, while Moore died later at a Columbia area hospital.

The drivers of the first two vehicles, a 22-year-old man and 54-year old man, were taken to Lexington Medical Center for treatment, a patrol spokesman said after the accident. Their conditions were not known Sunday.