Two killed in separate crashes in same SC county, and one was lying in the road, cops say

Two pedestrians were killed Saturday in separate crashes in the same county, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

The unrelated collisions happened less than 2 hours apart and about 20 miles from each other in Laurens County, according to Lance Cpl. Brittany Glover.

The first crash happened at about 4:45 a.m. on U.S. 25, Glover said. A 2000 Ford pickup truck was driving north near the intersection with S.C. 252 when it hit a person who was lying in the road, according to Glover.

The pedestrian died at the scene, Glover said. The pickup driver was not hurt, and no other injuries were reported by Glover.

The Highway Patrol did not say how the person came to be lying in the road.

The second pedestrian was killed at about 6:25 a.m., according to Glover.

The pedestrian was walking across S.C. 14, near the intersection with Back Street, and was hit by a 2012 Kia sedan that was driving west, Glover said.

As in the earlier crash, the pedestrian died at the scene, but the Kia driver was not hurt, according to Glover. No other injuries were reported.

The Laurens County Coroner’s Office has not publicly identified either of the pedestrians.

Through Wednesday, 797 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2023, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Last year, 1,091 people died in crashes in South Carolina, DPS reported.

At least 24 people have died in Laurens County crashes in 2023, according to DPS data. Last year, 24 deaths were reported in the county, DPS reported.

This story was originally published October 29, 2023 at 9:44 AM.

Noah Feit

The State

803-771-8435

Noah Feit is a Real Time reporter with The State focused on breaking news, public safety and trending news. The award-winning journalist has worked for multiple newspapers since starting his career in 1999. Support my work with a digital subscription