Teen killed, another driver hurt when pickup and tractor trailer crash, SC cops say
One driver was killed and another was injured Monday when a pickup truck and tractor trailer collided on a Midlands road, the South Carolina Highway Patrol said.
Brian Deshawn Willingham, a 19-year-old Jenkinsville resident, died in the accident, Fairfield County Coroner Chris Hill said.
The two-vehicle collision happened at about 6:15 a.m. in Fairfield County, according to Cpl. Tyler Tidwell.
Willingham was driving a 2004 Chevrolet Avalanche north on S.C. 213, near Alston Road, when it crossed the center line and collided head-on with a southbound 2014 Peterbilt tractor trailer, Hillsaid. That’s in the Peak area, close to the Broad River.
Willingham died at the scene, according to Tidwell.
An autopsy is scheduled with Newberry Pathology to determine the exact cause of death, Hill said.
The tractor trailer driver was hurt and taken to an area hospital, according to Tidwell. Further information on that driver’s condition was not available.
No other injuries were reported.
There was no word if either of the drivers were wearing seat belts.
Information about what caused the Chevy to veer into oncoming traffic was not available, but the wreck continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol and coroner’s office.
Through Sunday, 153 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2023, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Last year, 1,081 people died in crashes in South Carolina, DPS reported.
At least three people have died in Fairfield County crashes in 2023, DPS data shows. Last year, nine deaths were reported in the county, DPS reported.
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This story was originally published March 6, 2023 at 12:58 PM.
