Deadly crash and vehicle fire to block busy Lexington road for hours, officials say
A busy road in Lexington was closed Wednesday afternoon following a deadly crash, county officials said.
The 2000 block of South Lake Drive, near the intersection with Platt Springs Road, was expected to be blocked for hours following the wreck, Lexington County officials said at about 12:30 p.m. That’s an area densely packed with retail businesses and restaurants.
A man was killed in the single-vehicle collision, Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher told The State.
He was driving a 2007 Chevrolet Trailblazer, heading west on South Lake Drive when the SUV veered off left side of road and hit a tree before it flipped over and hit another tree, according to Lance Cpl. Tyler Tidwell of South Carolina Highway Patrol.
After the crash, the Chevy caught on fire, Tidwell said.
The driver is expected to be publicly identified by the coroner’s office after it has notified his family.
Tidwell said the driver was the only person inside the SUV, and no other injuries were reported.
Entrapment in the vehicle was involved, county officials said. Lexington County Fire Service, EMS and the sheriff’s department are on the scene, along with Highway Patrol troopers. Highway Patrol was called about the crash at about 12:15 p.m., Tidwell told The State.
There was no word on what caused the Chevy to run off the road.
Traffic in the area was diverted for 2-3 hours, according to county officials.
In an unrelated incident, a separate collision caused issues for drivers in Lexington.
A crash on U.S. 378/Sunset Boulevard at Old Cherokee Road had all inbound lanes closed, the Lexington Police Department said at about 1:30 p.m. That’s in another area densely packed with retail businesses and restaurants, about 4 miles from Exit 61 on Interstate 20.
Traffic was detoured onto Old Cherokee Road, according to police.
Information on injuries was not available from the South Carolina Department of Public Safety.
The collision was caused by a driver failing to yield the right of way, police said.
Drivers in the area were asked to remain alert and use caution.
Through Wednesday morning, 573 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2021, state Department of Public Safety data shows.
At least 28 people have been killed in Lexington County crashes in 2021, according to DPS.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
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This story was originally published July 21, 2021 at 12:56 PM.
