Columbia man killed in crash that hurt three others identified by coroner

The Columbia man who was killed in a crash that left three other people hospitalized was identified by the Richland County Coroner’s Office.

Leon Jones Jr., 33, died Sunday, according to Coroner Naida Rutherford.

Jones was a passenger in a 2011 Ford Crown Victoria that ran off Interstate 77 and crashed into a tree, said Master Trooper Brian Lee of South Carolina Highway Patrol.

The single-vehicle collision happened at about 12:30 a.m. near the 10 mile marker on I-77, according to Lee. That’s near Exit 10, which is the junction with S.C. 760/Jackson Boulevard and the route to Fort Jackson.

The Ford was driving south on I-77 when it veered off the right side of the road and ran into the tree, Lee said.

Jones was a passenger in the car, according to Rutherford. Neither he nor any of the three other occupants wore a seat belt, Lee said.

The driver and two surviving passengers were taken to an area hospital, according to Lee. Further information on their conditions was not available.

No other injuries were reported.

There was no word on what caused the car to run off I-77, but the crash continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol.

Through Sunday, 1,048 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2021, state Department of Public Safety data shows. Of those, 696 of the victims had access to seat belts, but 341 were not wearing them, DPS reported.

At least 62 people have been killed in Richland County crashes in 2021, and 40 of them were not wearing seat belts, DPS reported.

This story was originally published December 14, 2021 at 8:24 AM.

Noah Feit

The State

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Noah Feit is a Real Time reporter with The State focused on breaking news, public safety and trending news. The award-winning journalist has worked for multiple newspapers since starting his career in 1999. Support my work with a digital subscription