Richland County coroner identifies Columbia woman killed in head-on collision
The 23-year-old Columbia woman who was killed in a car crash was publicly identified by the Richland County Coroner’s Office Wednesday.
The two-vehicle collision happened early Monday morning, at about 3:30 a.m., near the intersection of U.S. 176 (River Drive) and Pearl Street, said Master Trooper David Jones of the South Carolina Highway Patrol. That’s just beyond the Broad River bridge, where U.S. 176 changes from Broad River Road to River Drive.
Justice Scipio died at the scene, Coroner Gary Watts said in a news release.
Scipio was driving a 2014 Ford sedan heading east on River Drive, when it crossed the center line and smashed head on into a 2014 Hyundai sedan traveling in the opposite direction, according to Jones.
An autopsy showed Scipio’s cause of death was blunt force trauma, Watts said.
The driver of the Hyundai was taken to Prisma Health Richland with non-life-threatening injuries, according to Jones. He’s in serious condition, Watts said.
Both drivers were wearing seat belts during the crash, Jones said. Watts said there were no passengers in either vehicle and no other injuries were reported.
Information on what caused the Ford to veer into oncoming traffic was not available. The wreck remains under investigation by Highway Patrol and the coroner’s office.
Through Tuesday, 394 people have died on South Carolina roads in 2020, according to the Department of Public Safety.
This story was originally published June 17, 2020 at 2:02 PM.
