School bus involved in deadly crash on Richland County road, SC Highway Patrol says
One person was killed when a car crashed into a school bus on a Richland County road Tuesday, the South Carolina Highway Patrol said.
Kathy P. Smalls, a 59-year-old Columbia resident, is the driver who died, Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford said Wednesday.
The two-vehicle collision happened in Columbia at about 4 p.m., near the intersection of Secondary 266/Rhame Road and North Crossing Drive, according to Master Trooper Brian Lee. That’s close to Clemson Road and the Village at Sandhill shopping center.
Smalls was driving a 2015 Honda Accord east on Rhame Road when the car crossed left of the center line and hit a westbound 2021 Thomas school bus, Lee said.
Information about if Smalls died at the scene, or was first taken to an area hospital, was not available.
Lee said the school bus driver was not hurt and no other injuries were reported.
A spokesperson for the Richland 2 school district said there were no students, or anyone else, on the bus other than the driver, WLTX reported.
There was no word if any of the occupants involved in the wreck wore a seat belt.
Information on what caused the car to veer into oncoming traffic was not available, but the crash remains under investigation by the Highway Patrol.
Through Monday, 210 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2022, according to the Department of Public Safety. Last year, 1,149 people died in crashes in South Carolina, DPS reported.
At least 14 people have been killed in Richland County crashes in 2022, according to DPS. There were 68 deaths there last year, DPS data shows.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
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This story was originally published March 30, 2022 at 8:09 AM.
