Driver ejected from car in deadly crash on I-26 identified by coroner
One person was killed in a late night crash on a major interstate running through the Midlands, the South Carolina Highway Patrol said Sunday.
Antonia Francisco Tino Delacruz, a 20-year-old Sumter resident, was the driver who died in the crash, Newberry County Coroner Laura Kneece said Monday.
The single-vehicle collision happened on Interstate 26 at about 11:15 p.m. Saturday, according to Master Trooper Brandon Bolt.
A 2014 Kia sedan was driving east on I-26 and ran off the right side of the road near the 72 mile marker, Bolt said. That’s in Newberry County, near the junction with S.C. 121 at Exit 72.
The Kia crashed into the guard rail and veered across I-26 where it ran off the left side of the highway, hitting the cable barrier and flipping over, according to Bolt.
Delacruz, who was the lone occupant, was ejected and died, Bolt said.
“It does not appear that the driver was wearing his seat belt,” Kneece said.
No other injuries were reported.
Information about what caused the Kia to run off I-26 was not available, but the crash continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol.
Through Sunday, 650 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2022, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Last year, 1,194 people died in crashes in South Carolina, DPS reported.
At least five people have died in Newberry County crashes in 2022, DPS reported. Last year, 18 deaths were reported there, according to DPS data.
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This story was originally published August 21, 2022 at 11:37 AM.
