Driver dies when thrown from truck in early morning Richland County crash, cops say
One person was killed early Tuesday morning when a truck flipped over and crashed into trees near a Richland County road, South Carolina Highway Patrol said.
The single-vehicle collision happened at about 12:05 a.m., near the intersection of Shady Grove Road and Will Richardson Circle, according to Master Trooper David Jones. That’s in the Irmo area, about 2 miles from Dutch Fork High School.
A 2014 Ford F250 ran off the right side of Shady Grove Road and hit a ditch, causing the pickup truck to flip over, Jones said. When the Ford overturned, the driver was ejected as the truck crashed into trees, according to Jones.
The driver, who was not wearing a seat belt, died on the scene, Jones said.
The Richland County Coroner’s Office is expected to publicly identify the driver after notifying the next of kin.
No other injuries were reported.
There was no word about what caused the truck to veer off the road, but the crash continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol.
This is the second deadly crash in the Irmo area of Richland County in as many days. On Sunday, a person pushing a disabled moped on Kennerly Road was hit from behind by an SUV and the force of the impact threw the pedestrian into oncoming traffic, where there was a second collision with a pickup truck, according to Highway Patrol.
Through Sunday, 1,068 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2021, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Of those, 706 of the victims had access to seat belts, but 348 were not wearing them, DPS reported.
At least 64 people have been killed in Richland County crashes in 2021, and seat belts were not used in at least 41 of the collisions, according to the DPS.
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This story was originally published December 28, 2021 at 10:45 AM.
