16-year-old dies days after pickup truck crashes into tree, SC coroner says

A teenager died two days after the pickup truck he was driving crashed into a tree, South Carolina Highway Patrol said.

Ryan White, 16, died in an Augusta, Georgia, hospital Monday, Edgefield County Coroner David Burnett told The State.

The Trenton resident was in a single-vehicle collision at about 10:30 p.m. Saturday, according to Master Trooper Brandon Bolt of the Highway Patrol.

White was the only person in the 2002 Ford Ranger as it was heading west on Egghouse Road, Bolt said. The truck went off the right side of the road near the intersection with Woodward Lake Road in the Johnston area. White then overcorrected and the Ford ran off the left side of Egghouse Road and smashed into a tree, according to Bolt.

White was not wearing a seat belt and was entrapped in the pickup truck before he was mechanically extricated and airlifted by helicopter to the hospital, Bolt said.

White died from injuries suffered in the accident, according to Burnett.

Information on what caused the truck to veer off the road was not available, but the crash is being investigated by Highway Patrol.

This was the first fatal collision of 2021 in Edgefield County, Burnett said.

At least 27 people have died on South Carolina roads in the first 11 days of 2021, according to the Department of Public Safety. Of those, 21 of the victims had access to seat belts, but 11 were not wearing them, DPS confirmed.

Overall, 1,017 people died on South Carolina roads in 2020, DPS reported. Of those, 695 had access to seat belts, but 347 were not wearing them, according to DPS.

This story was originally published January 12, 2021 at 12:42 PM.

Noah Feit

The State

803-771-8435

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