High school student killed when car she was in crashed, SC cops say
A teenager was killed Wednesday in a crash that left another person hospitalized, according to South Carolina officials.
Jaida Gooden, a 17-year-old Cordova resident and Edisto High School student, died in what Orangeburg County Coroner Sean Fogle called an accident.
She was one of two people in a 2010 Honda Accord that was involved in a two-vehicle collision in the Cordova area of Orangeburg County, said Lance Cpl. Brittany Glover of the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Both the Honda and a 2019 Chevrolet Impala were driving north on Riley Road, according to Glover. At an intersection, the Chevy was turning left onto Mixon Mill Road when it was hit by the Honda, before running off the right side of Riley Road where it hit a ditch and flipped over, Glover said.
Gooden suffered multiple blunt force injuries and died at the scene, according to Fogle.
The other person in the Honda was taken to an area hospital, Glover said. Further information on that victim’s condition was not available.
It was not clear if Gooden or the surviving victim was driving the Honda.
Glover said the Chevy driver was the only person in that car and was not hurt. No other injuries were reported.
There is no word if anybody involved in the wreck was wearing a seatbelt.
The crash is being investigated by both the Highway Patrol and coroner’s office.
Through Sunday, at least 771 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 27 people have died in Orangeburg County crashes in 2025, according to DPS data. There were 46 deaths in the county in 2024, DPS reported.
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