Body found on highway was 21-year-old who had been shot, Lexington County coroner says
A body found on a highway in Lexington County was identified as that of a 21-year-old Edgefield man, the Lexington County Coroner’s Office said Wednesday.
Torrian Bryant Oree’s body was discovered at about 7 p.m. Tuesday, just east of Exit 51 on Interstate 20, Coroner Margaret Fisher said in a news release. He had been shot multiple times, according to the coroner.
There was no word if Oree had been shot near the highway, or if he died elsewhere.
Information on a shooter, or shooters, and a motive for the gunfire were not made available but the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department is investigating.
The sheriff’s department did not say if the shooting was considered an isolated incident or is considered an ongoing threat to the public.
The sheriff’s department closed a stretch of I-20 for more than an hour after Oree’s body was discovered.
From Exit 51 to Exit 55, all eastbound lanes of I-20 were blocked about 8:40 p.m. as crime scene investigators collected potential evidence and processed the area around the body, according to the sheriff’s department.
Drivers had to use alternative routes and a detour set up by South Carolina Highway Patrol until I-20 was reopened at about 10 p.m.
In an unrelated incident in September 2020, a body was discovered at an abandoned rest area in Lexington County, between the 49 and 48 mile markers on the westbound side of I-20.
Richard Lee Hudson, 65, of Columbia was charged with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime after the body of Walter R. Payne Jr. was found dumped near the edge of the woods after the 69-year-old was shot.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
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This story was originally published March 24, 2021 at 10:44 AM.
