20-year-old woman found dead inside of car, SC coroner says
The body of a 20-year-old South Carolina woman was found inside a car a day after she was killed in a single-vehicle crash, the Aiken County Coroner’s Office said.
Williston resident Haleigh M. Mahon-Smart died in the crash in the 1400 block of Hatchaway Bridge Road, Coroner Darryl Ables said in a news release.
Mahon-Smart’s body was discovered at about 10 a.m. Friday after a 2012 Volkswagen Golf was found near the wood line, according to the release.
About 12 hours earlier, the Volkswagen was driving east on Hatchaway Bridge Road when it ran off the right side of the road, went down an embankment and hit a tree, said Lance Cpl. Tyler Tidwell of the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Mahon-Smart, who was not wearing a seat belt, died of blunt force injuries, according to Ables.
No other injuries were reported.
There was no word what caused the car to veer off the road, but the crash continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol and coroner’s office.
Toxicology tests are pending, Ables said.
Through Oct. 30, at least 841 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 23 people have died in Aiken County crashes in 2022, DPS reported. Last year, 36 deaths were reported there, according to DPS data.
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This story was originally published November 6, 2022 at 1:36 PM.
