Columbia man killed in early-morning highway crash, SC coroner says
A Columbia man was killed in an early-morning crash on Interstate 20, according to the Aiken County Coroner’s Office.
Luis Daniel Echevarria, 34, suffered blunt force injuries and died at the scene Thursday, Coroner Darryl Ables said.
The single-vehicle collision happened at about 1 a.m., according to Lance Cpl. Tyler Tidwell of the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Echevarria was driving a 2005 Ford Freestar east on I-20, toward Columbia, when the minivan ran off the left side of the highway, Tidwell said.
Echevarria overcorrected and the minivan came back onto I-20 before again veering to the left, where it flipped over and crashed into a tree, according to Tidwell.
Ables said the wreck was at the 34 mile marker — just past the exit for Wagener, Ridge Spring, and Monetta, and a few miles shy of the Lexington County line.
Echevarria was not wearing a seat belt, according to Tidwell.
He was the only person in the minivan and no other injuries were reported by the Highway Patrol.
Through Wednesday afternoon, 499 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2021, state Department of Public Safety data shows. Of those, 343 had access to seat belts, but 173 were not wearing them, DPS reported.
At least 14 people have been killed in Aiken County crashes in 2021, and seat belts were not used in 10 of the deaths, according to DPS.
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This story was originally published July 1, 2021 at 9:13 AM.
