SC woman killed when car runs off road and crashes into trees, officials say

One person was killed and another was injured Friday in a crash, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

Rashida Z. Dash, a 38-year-old Goose Creek resident, died in what the Berkeley County Coroner’s Office called an accident.

The single-vehicle collision happened at about 4 a.m., said Master Trooper Mitchell Ridgeway of the Highway Patrol.

Dash was driving a 2017 Chevrolet sedan south on U.S. 17 Alternate in Berkeley County, officials said. Near the intersection with Hootie Court, the Chevy ran off the right side of U.S. 17 Alternate and hit multiple trees, according to Ridgeway.

Dash died at the scene, while a passenger in the Chevy was injured and taken to a Lowcountry hospital, Ridgeway said. Further information on the passenger’s condition was not available.

No other injuries were reported.

The coroner’s office said that Dash was not wearing a seat belt, but there was no word if the passenger was wearing a safety restraint.

Information about what caused the Chevy to veer off the road was not available, but the crash continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol and coroner’s office.

Members of the Berkeley County EMS, Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office and East Berkeley Fire & Rescue also responded to the scene.

Through May 4, at least 270 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2025, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Last year, at least 948 people died in crashes in South Carolina, DPS reported.

At least 15 people have died in Berkeley County crashes in 2025, according to DPS data. There were 32 deaths in the county in 2024, DPS reported.

This story was originally published May 12, 2025 at 10:20 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