Driver killed in crash that sent passenger to the hospital identified by coroner
One person was killed and another hospitalized following a Wednesday night crash on a Midlands road, according to South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Virginia Hollingsworth, a 37-year-old Winnsboro resident, was identified as the person killed, according to Newberry County Coroner Laura Kneece.
The single-vehicle collision happened at about 8:45 p.m. at the intersection of Graham Road and S.C. 34, Cpl. Matt Southern said Thursday. That’s in Pomaria, about 12 miles north of downtown Newberry.
A 2000 Infiniti sedan was heading north on Graham Road, and when it arrived at the intersection with S.C. 34, the driver, later identified as Hollingsworth, disregarded a stop sign, according to Southern.
The car ran off the road and smashed into a ditch before hitting a highway sign, Southern said.
Hollingsworth died at the scene. A passenger was taken to an area hospital, according to Southern. Further information on the passenger’s condition was not available, other than Kneece saying that person was released from the hospital.
No other injuries were reported by Highway Patrol.
Neither the Hollingsworth nor the passenger was wearing a seat belt, according to Southern.
An autopsy on Hollingsworth has been scheduled for this week, Kneece said.
Highway Patrol and the coroner’s office continue to investigate the wreck.
Through Wednesday afternoon, 951 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2020, according to the Department of Public Safety. Of those, 645 of the victims had access to seat belts, but 347 were not wearing them, DPS reported.
There have been at least 12 people killed in Newberry County crashes in 2020, and seat belts were not used in nine of the deaths, DPS data shows.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
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This story was originally published December 3, 2020 at 7:31 AM.
