Driver killed when pickup truck runs off SC road, crashes into tree and flips, cops say

One person was killed Saturday when a pickup truck ran off a Midlands road and crashed, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

Wesley Leon Wise, a 69-year-old Winnsboro resident, died in what Fairfield County Coroner Chris Hill called an accident.

The single-vehicle collision happened at about 4:10 p.m. in Fairfield County, said Lance Cpl. Brittany Glover of the Highway Patrol.

Wise was driving a 1994 Ford pickup east on S.C. 200, and near the intersection with Caughman Lane the truck ran off the right side of the road, according to Glover. The pickup then swerved back onto the road and continued across off of the left side, where it crashed into a tree then flipped over, Glover said.

Wise was entrapped in the pickup and died at the scene, Hill said.

Glover said the driver was the only person in the truck, and no other injuries were reported.

There was no word if the driver was wearing a seat belt.

Information about what caused the pickup to originally veer off the road was not available, but Hill said both his office and the Highway Patrol are continuing to be investigate the crash.

Through June 23, at least 447 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2024, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Last year, 1,030 people died in crashes in South Carolina, DPS reported.

At least nine people have died in Fairfield County crashes in 2024, according to DPS data. There were 15 deaths reported in the county in 2023, DPS said.

This story was originally published June 30, 2024 at 9:46 AM.

Noah Feit

The State

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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