UPDATED: Three killed overnight in crashes and more hurt, SC Highway Patrol says
Three people were killed, and four others hospitalized, following three unrelated crashes on Midlands-area roads Saturday, South Carolina Highway Patrol reported.
None of the three people who died in the collisions were wearing a seat belt, according to Highway Patrol.
A two-vehicle collision in Aiken County happened just before 9:30 p.m., Master Trooper Brian Lee said. One person was killed in the wreck and two others were injured.
Aiken County Coroner Darryl Ables identified the crash victim as Santiago Cortez. The 29-year-old Aiken resident suffered blunt force injuries and died at the scene, according to the coroner.
A 1998 Honda Accord was heading west on S.C. 118 (East Pine Log Road) when it tried to make a turn at S.C. 4 (Wagener Road) and disregarded oncoming traffic and was hit by a 2018 Jeep Wrangler traveling in the opposite direction, according to Lee. That’s near the intersection with Charleston Highway.
Cortez was a passenger in the back seat of the Honda, Lee said.
The drivers of both cars were wearing seat belts and were taken to an area hospital, according to Lee. Further information on their conditions was not available.
Information on possible charges was not available, but the collision remains under investigation by Highway Patrol and the coroner’s office.
Another deadly wreck was reported in neighboring Edgefield County.
Just before 6:30 p.m., one passenger was killed in a single-vehicle collision, while the driver and another passenger were injured and hospitalized, Lee said. Highway Patrol reported none of the three occupants was wearing a seat belt.
A 1995 Dodge Dakota single-cab pickup truck was heading north on U.S. 25 when it ran off the left side of the road and smashed into a tree, according to Lee.
The passenger sitting in the middle was killed, while the driver and other passenger were hurt and taken to an area hospital, Lee said. Further information on their conditions was not available.
The person who was killed will be publicly identified by the Edgefield County Coroner’s Office.
There was no word on what caused the truck to veer off the road, but the wreck remains under investigation by Highway Patrol.
Further north, in Chesterfield County, a separate fatal crash occurred.
Shortly after midnight, the driver of a 2007 Buick was killed in a single-vehicle collision, Trooper Joe Hovis said.
The Buick was heading east on Patrick Society Hill Road when it ran off the right side of the road, according to Hovis. The driver overcorrected and the vehicle crossed off the left side of the road where it hit a ditch and flipped over, Hovis said.
The driver was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the Buick and died at the scene, according to Hovis.
No other injuries were reported.
The Chesterfield County Coroner’s office will publicly identify the driver after notifying the family.
Information on what caused the car to run off the road was not available, but the crash is being investigated by Highway Patrol.
Through Friday, 431 people have died on South Carolina roads in 2020, according to the Department of Public Safety. Of those deaths, 303 of the victims had access to seat belts, and 165 were not wearing safety restraints, DPS reported.
In all, at least five people were killed on South Carolina roads Saturday.
Deadly collisions involving a pedestrian and a motorcycle rider without a helmet were also reported in Beaufort and Spartanburg counties, respectively, according to Highway Patrol. Those unrelated crashes are also under investigation.
This story was originally published June 28, 2020 at 10:00 AM.
