Driver killed, passenger hurt when car hits tree near Midlands road, SC cops say
One person was killed and another was injured Sunday when a car ran off a Midlands road and crashed into a tree, the South Carolina Highway Patrol said.
The single-vehicle collision happened at about 5 p.m. on a stretch of U.S. 601 in Orangeburg County, according to Master Trooper Brandon Bolt.
A 2017 Ford Fiesta was driving north when it crossed the median and went off the left side of the road, where it hit a tree and flipped over, Bolt said.
The driver was killed and a 23-year-old man who was a passenger was hurt and taken to an area hospital, according to Bolt. Further information on the passenger’s condition was not available.
The Orangeburg County Coroner’s Office has not publicly identified the driver.
There was no word if either of the victims wore seat belts.
Information about why the Ford veered off the road was not available, but the collision continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol.
Through Sept. 18, at least 730 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 29 people have died in Orangeburg County crashes in 2022, DPS reported. Last year, 45 deaths were reported there, according to DPS data.
This is the third deadly collision in Orangeburg County over the past week.
On Sept. 18, an ATV crashed and flipped over into a creek, killing the driver, the Highway Patrol said.
On Saturday, a person died in a Richland County hospital three days after being involved in a crash on an Orangeburg County road. The person was one of five occupants, and the other four were hospitalized Wednesday after the vehicle ran off the road, hit a ditch and flipped over, according to the Highway Patrol.
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This story was originally published September 26, 2022 at 10:35 AM.
