One killed, another injured overnight in car crash, SC cops say

One person is dead and another hospitalized following a Saturday night crash, the South Carolina Highway Patrol said.

The driver of a 2016 Dodge Challenger disregarded a stop sign before the single-vehicle collision, Cpl. Sonny Collins said Sunday.

The wreck happened just before 10:30 p.m. on Green Acres Road in Florence, according to Collins. That is about 80 miles east of Columbia.

The car was heading east when it came to an intersection and went through the traffic sign without stopping, Collins said.

The Dodge ran off the road and smashed into a tree, killing the front-seat passenger, Highway patrol reported.

The driver was injured in the wreck and taken to an area hospital.

Information on the driver’s condition was not available.

Neither the driver nor the passenger were wearing seat belts, Collins said.

The Florence County Coroner’s Office will publicly identify the passenger after notifying the next of kin.

There was no word on possible criminal charges, but the collision remains under investigation by Highway Patrol.

Information was not available if the weather played a factor in the crash, as severe thunderstorms hit the Midlands Saturday night. It was overcast and winds moving at 18mph were reported in Florence at about the time of the wreck, according to timeanddate.com.

Two weeks into 2020, at least 12 people have been killed in crashes on South Carolina roads, according to the Department of Public Safety. Of those, seven had access to seat belts, and four did not use safety restraints.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.

This story was originally published January 12, 2020 at 10:47 AM.

Noah Feit

The State

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Noah Feit is a Real Time reporter with The State focused on breaking news, public safety and trending news. The award-winning journalist has worked for multiple newspapers since starting his career in 1999. Support my work with a digital subscription