Driver killed in overnight crash on highway running through Richland Co., SC cops say

One person was killed in an early-morning crash on a highway running through Richland County, the South Carolina Highway Patrol said Sunday.

The single-vehicle collision happened at about 1 a.m. on Interstate 26, Cpl. Sonny Collins said.

An eastbound lane was closed for about two hours near the 98-mile marker, the South Carolina Department of Transportation said on Twitter. That’s just outside of Columbia, a few miles away from the area called Malfunction Junction, and near Exit 101 which is the connection with U.S. 76.

A 2014 Audi was heading east on I-26 when it ran off the right side of the road and flipped over, according to Collins.

The driver, who was not wearing a seat belt, died at the scene, Collins said.

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

No other injuries were reported by Highway Patrol.

Information on what caused the car to veer off I-26 was not available, but the wreck is being investigated by Highway Patrol and the coroner’s office.

Through Friday afternoon, 845 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2020, according to the Department of Public Safety. Of those, 573 of the victims had access to seat belts, but 304 were not wearing them, DPS reported.

There have been at least 39 people killed in Richland County crashes in 2020, and seat belts were not used in at least 27 of the collisions, according to DPS.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.

This story was originally published November 1, 2020 at 8:48 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