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Twin brothers killed in overnight car crash, Columbia police say

Twin brothers were killed in a late-night car crash, the Columbia Police Department said Tuesday.

The Richland County Coroner’s Office said Ronald D. Smith and Donald J. Smith died in Monday’s single-vehicle collision, according to a news release from the police.

The wreck happened at about 11:30 p.m. in the 4400 block of Farrow Road, near Guernsey Drive, police said. That’s in North Columbia, close to the junction with S.C. 277 and about 1.5 miles from the Prisma Health Richland hospital complex.

The 29-year-old brothers were in a Mazda 626 that was heading south on Farrow Road at a high rate of speed in the rain, according to the release.

The car ran off the road and smashed into a pole, and the brothers died at the scene, police said.

Coroner Gary Watts said the cause of death for both brothers was multiple trauma received during the collision, according to the release.

Police did not say which brother was driving, and there was no word if they were wearing seat belts.

The wreck remains under investigation by police.

Through Tuesday morning, 578 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2020, according to the Department of Public Safety. This is the 29th and 30th fatalities from a collision in Richland County this year, DPS data shows.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.

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This story was originally published August 18, 2020 at 2:32 PM.

Noah Feit
The State
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
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