16-year-old girl killed in crash on busy SC road, Lexington County coroner says
A 16-year-old girl was identified as the victim who died in a Monday night crash on a busy Columbia road, according to the Lexington County Coroner’s Office.
Columbia resident Brittany Rosalinda Valencia was the teenager who died in what Coroner Margaret Fisher called an accident in a Thursday news release.
Valencia went to Irmo High School, which is less than 2 miles from where she died, according to an online fundraiser organized by her sister.
The two-vehicle collision happened at about 8:45 p.m. Monday in Lexington County, said Master Trooper William Bennett of the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
A 2017 Toyota Prius was driving west on St. Andrews Road and near the intersection with Leisure Lane it collided with a 2007 Toyota Camry that was heading east, according to Bennett. That’s near Seven Oaks Park, about 2 miles from Exit 106 on Interstate 26.
Valencia, a passenger in the Camry who was wearing a seat belt, died at the scene, Fisher said.
The drivers of both cars were taken to Prisma Health Richland hospital, according to Bennett. Further information on the drivers’ conditions was not available, but Fisher said their injuries were not life-threatening.
No other injuries were reported.
There was no word if either of the drivers were wearing seat belts.
Information about what led to the collision was not available, but the wreck continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol and the coroner’s office.
Through Sunday, 905 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2024, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Last year, 1,030 people died in crashes in South Carolina, DPS reported.
At least 48 people have died in Lexington County crashes in 2024, according to DPS data. There were 45 deaths in the county in 2023, DPS reported.
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This story was originally published December 12, 2024 at 1:17 PM.
