SUV flips over and crashes into tree killing driver, SC Highway Patrol says
A man was killed Sunday when an SUV crashed into a tree on a Midlands-area road, South Carolina officials said.
Marcus L. Collins died at the scene, according to Aiken County Coroner Darryl Ables. The 35-year-old Grovetown, Georgia, resident was driving a 1998 Ford Explorer, according to Ables.
The single-vehicle collision happened in Aiken at about 5 p.m. on Silver Bluff Road, near the intersection with Anderson Pond Road, said Cpl. Matt Southern of South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Collins was driving the Ford west on Silver Bluff Road when it ran off right side of road, according to Southern. Collins overcorrected and crossed the center line before running off the left side of the road, where the SUV flipped over and hit a tree, Southern said.
Collins was not wearing a seat belt and died of blunt force injuries, according to Ables.
No other injuries were reported.
Information on what caused the SUV to originally veer off the road was not available, but the crash continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol and the coroner’s office.
Results from toxicology tests are pending, Ables said.
Through Monday morning, 654 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2021, state Department of Public Safety data shows. Of those, 443 of the victims had access to seat belts, but 216 were not wearing them, DPS reported.
At least 20 people have been killed in Aiken County crashes in 2021, and 13 of them were not wearing seat belts, DPS reported.
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This story was originally published August 16, 2021 at 1:45 PM.
