Man killed in overnight crash identified by Lexington County coroner
A Midlands man was killed in an overnight crash that left another person hospitalized, the Lexington County Coroner’s Office said Thursday.
Damon Watts Jaynes died at the scene of a single-vehicle collision, Coroner Margaret Fisher said in a news release.
The 27-year-old Leesville resident was driving in the 400 block of Dixired Road, according to the release. That’s in Leesville, near the intersection with U.S. 1/Augusta Highway.
At about 11:55 p.m., Jaynes’ vehicle ran off the right side of the road and crashed into an embankment and flipped over, Fisher said.
Neither Jaynes nor a passenger in the vehicle were wearing seat belts, according to the release.
The passenger was taken to an area hospital with serious injuries, Fisher said. Further information on the passenger’s condition was not available.
No other injuries were reported.
There was no word on what caused the vehicle to veer off the road, but the crash is being investigated by South Carolina Highway Patrol.
“Our condolences go out to the family and friends of Mr. Jaynes,” Fisher said.
Through Thursday morning, 394 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2021, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Of those, 274 had access to seat belts, but 129 were not wearing them, DPS data shows.
At least 19 people have been killed in Lexington County crashes in 2021, and seat belts were not used in nine of the deaths, DPS reported.
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