Raleigh man killed trying to cross highway in Columbia, coroner says
The pedestrian who was killed on a highway in Columbia was publicly identified by the Richland County Coroner’s Office.
Todd Stefansky, a 41-year-old Raleigh, North Carolina resident, died after being hit by a vehicle while walking across Interstate 20, Coroner Naida Rutherford said.
The collision happened early Saturday, at about 5 a.m., according to Lance Cpl. Tyler Tidwell of the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Stefansky was in an eastbound lane of I-20, near the 71 mile marker, when he was hit by a 2013 Honda, Tidwell said. Exit 71 is the junction with Wilson Boulevard in northern Richland County.
Information if Stefansky died at the scene, or was first taken to an area hospital, was not available.
No other injuries were reported in the collision that continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol.
Through Friday, 165 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2022 — and 24 were pedestrians — according to the Department of Public Safety.
In 2021, 186 pedestrians were among the 1,149 people who died on South Carolina roads, DPS said.
At least 12 people have died in Richland County crashes in 2022, and three involved a pedestrian, DPS reported. Last year, there were 71 deaths reported there, and 17 were pedestrians, according to DPS data.
Since this wreck, there have been at least two more fatal collisions in Richland County.
At about 10 p.m. Sunday, a Jaguar was driving east on Broad River Road and attempting to escape from law enforcement officers in pursuit when it collided with an westbound Lexus, killing that driver, according to the Highway Patrol.
On Saturday, at about 10 p.m., the driver of a GMC Acadia died after colliding with a Ford F150 and flipping over on Garners Ferry Road, the Highway Patrol said.
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