Woman found dead on the shoulder of interstate identified, SC coroner says
The Lexington County Coroner’s Office has identified the person found dead on Interstate 20 Friday morning.
A passerby discovered the body of a woman on a grassy shoulder of the highway in the Columbia area of Lexington County at about 7:15 a.m. The woman was identified as 22-year-old Stephanie Chanel Quintana, of Columbia.
An autopsy at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston showed Quintana died of blunt force trauma resulting from being hit by a vehicle, Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher said.
Officials ask members of the public with any information that might be related to the incident to contact the S.C. Highway Patrol or the Lexington County Coroner’s Office. The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department is assisting the investigation.
“We’re in the early phases of a death investigation that started early (Friday) morning along the westbound side of I-20 near mile marker 62.,” the sheriff’s department wrote on social media. “Our work on the case continues.”
In same social media post, the department noted a second, separate death investigation that began Friday morning after a body was found at a nearby restaurant at exit 55 off the same interstate. The individual has not been publicly identified. Officials did not say whether they think the two deaths are connected.
“We have no information at this time that leads us to believe foul play was a factor in this death,” the sheriff’s department wrote.
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This story was originally published February 3, 2024 at 2:53 PM.
