SC man was taken to hospital in Columbia after crash and later died, coroner says
A South Carolina man died in a hospital in Columbia the day after he was involved in a crash, according to the Aiken County Coroner’s Office.
Richard Fowler, an 81-year-old Eutawville resident, died at Prisma Health Richland hospital Monday at 9:45 a.m., Coroner Darryl Ables said in a news release.
Approximately 12 hours earlier, Fowler was in a single-vehicle collision, according to the release.
At about 9:45 p.m. Sunday, Fowler was driving a 2018 Kia west on South Dixie Road, Ables said. Near the intersection with Veterans Road, in the Salley area, the vehicle ran off the road and hit a ditch then crashed into a tree, according to the release.
Aiken EMS took Fowler to the hospital in Richland County, Ables said.
No other injuries were reported.
There was no word if Fowler was wearing a seat belt.
Information about what caused the Kia to veer off the road was not available, but Ables said the crash continues to be investigated by his office and the South Carolina Highway Patrol. The results of toxicology tests are pending, Ables said.
Through Sunday, 926 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 30 people have died in Aiken County crashes in 2024, according to DPS data. There were 38 deaths in the county in 2023, DPS reported.
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