One person killed, toddler ejected from truck in Lexington County crash, SC cops say
One person was killed in an early-morning crash on a Lexington County road that also left a small child in the hospital, South Carolina Highway Patrol said Sunday.
Charles Lamar Chestnut was identified as the person who died, according to Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher. The 22-year-old Lexington resident died at the scene, Fisher said.
The single-vehicle collision happened at about 3 a.m., on S.C. 6/South Lake Drive, near the intersection with Bluefield Road, according to Cpl. Matt Southern. That’s in Lexington, about 2 miles south of White Knoll High School.
A 2005 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck ran off the left side of South Lake Drive and hit two trees, Southern said. The Chevy the overturned, according to Fisher.
Chestnut was not wearing a seat belt, according to Southern.
A toddler who was a passenger in the Chevy was ejected from the pickup truck during the wreck and was taken to a Prisma Health hospital in Richland County with life-threatening injuries, Southern said. Further information on the child’s condition was not available.
A child’s car seat was found at the scene, but it remains under investigation if the toddler was restrained.
Information about the number of occupants in the pickup truck was not available, but no other injuries were reported by Highway Patrol.
There was no word on what caused the Chevy to run off the road, but the collision is being investigated by Highway Patrol.
Through Friday afternoon, 761 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2021, state Department of Public Safety data shows. Of those, 513 of the victims had access to seat belts, but 255 were not wearing them, DPS reported.
At least 37 people have been killed in Lexington County crashes in 2021, and 21 of them were not wearing seat belts, DPS reported.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
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This story was originally published September 12, 2021 at 9:14 AM.
