Search underway for truck driver involved in deadly hit-and-run on Midlands-area road
South Carolina Highway Patrol troopers are searching for the driver of a log truck who was involved in a deadly hit-and-run collision Tuesday on a Midlands-area road.
The two-vehicle crash happened at about 5:30 a.m., near the intersection of U.S. 301/Five Chop Road and U.S. 15/Bass Drive in Santee, Lance Cpl. Tyler Tidwell said. That’s near the junction with Interstate 95, and Lake Marion.
Scott J. Holbert died at the scene, Orangeburg County Chief Deputy Coroner Sean Fogle said. The 49-year-old Orangeburg resident died of blunt force injuries due to impalement, according to the coroner’s office.
Holbert was driving north on U.S. 301 in a 2017 Nissan Frontier when he ran into the rear of a tractor trailer carrying logs, Tidwell said.
The tractor trailer continued heading north and left the collision scene, according to Tidwell.
Holbert, who was the only person in the Nissan, was not wearing a seat belt, Tidwell said. No other injuries were reported by Highway Patrol.
The coroner’s office called Holbert’s death accidental, but the Highway Patrol continues to investigate the wreck as it searches for the truck driver.
The make and model of the tractor trailer is unknown, but it might have damage to the rear bumper area, Tidwell said.
Anyone with information on the identity of the driver is asked to call Highway Patrol at 843-953-6010 or 800-768-1501, or by calling Crime Stoppers at 843-554-1111.
Through Tuesday afternoon, 754 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2020, according to the Department of Public Safety. Of those, 511 of the victims had access to seat belts, but 267 were not wearing them, DPS reported.
This was at least the 22nd person killed in a Orangeburg County crash in 2020, and in 15 of those deaths no seat belt was used, according to DPS.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
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This story was originally published October 7, 2020 at 9:20 AM.
