Coroner identifies woman killed in head-on crash on Midlands road
The Midlands woman killed Sunday in a head-on collision was publicly identified by the Sumter County Coroner’s Office.
Laticia Zimmerman died at the scene of the crash, Coroner Robbie Baker said.
The 35-year-old Sumter resident was involved in a two-vehicle collision that happened at about 1:30 a.m., according to Baker.
Zimmerman was driving a 2004 Nissan Sentra on Pitts Road a few miles outside of downtown Sumter, according to Master Trooper David Jones of South Carolina Highway Patrol.
The Nissan was heading north when it crossed the center line and crashed head on with a 2014 Ford pickup truck that was traveling in the opposite direction, Jones said.
Zimmerman was not wearing a seat belt, according to Baker. An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.
The man driving the pickup truck was wearing his seat belt and was not injured, Jones said.
Information on what caused the Nissan to veer into oncoming traffic was not available, but the wreck remains under investigation by the Highway Patrol and the coroner’s office.
It was the second deadly collision in Sumter County in 24 hours.
At about 2:50 a.m. on Saturday, Lynwood Cox was killed in a single-vehicle collision on Packs Landing Road, Baker said.
The 24-year-old Dalzell resident was driving a 2015 Chevrolet truck east when the pickup ran off the left side of the road and smashed into a tree, Jones said.
Cox was not wearing a seat belt, was partially ejected from the truck, and died on the scene, according to Jones.
A front-seat passenger in the truck, who was wearing a seat belt, was taken to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Jones said. Further information on the passenger’s condition was not available.
There was no word on what caused the truck to run off the road, but it also continues to be investigated by Highway Patrol and the coroner’s office.
Multiple fatal crashes were reported across the Midlands over the weekend, including a wreck Richland County, another in Lexington County, and a collision involving a tree in Kershaw County.
Through Friday afternoon, 293 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2021, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Of those, 201 had access to seat belts, but 93 were not wearing them, DPS reported.
At least 10 people have been killed in Sumter County crashes in 2021, and seat belts were not used in eight of the deaths, DPS reported.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREThis is a breaking news story
In a breaking news situation, facts can be unclear and the situation may still be developing. The State is trying to get important information to the public as quickly and accurately as possible. This story will be updated as more information becomes available, and some information in this story may change as the facts become clearer. Refresh this page later for more updated information.
This story was originally published April 26, 2021 at 8:45 AM.
