Woman died & days later her husband followed, SC coroner says. What killed them?
Days after his wife died, a South Carolina man also passed away, according to the Aiken County Coroner’s Office.
Aiken residents Charles Sonner and Barbara Sonner both were being treated at the Anchor Post Acute Care and Rehabilitation Center after they were involved in a car crash that Coroner Darryl Ables called an accident.
The 84-year-old Charles Sonner died at the health care facility Saturday, the coroner’s office said in a news release. At 4:20 p.m., Charles Sonner was pronounced dead as a result of the crash, according to the release.
Earlier that same week, 83-year-old Barbara Sonner died at 12:30 a.m. on Nov. 18 from the injuries she suffered in traffic collision, the coroner’s office said.
The Sonners were being treated after they were involved in a two-vehicle collision in October, according to the release.
At about 4:45 p.m. on Oct. 13, Charles Sonner was driving a 2016 Hyundai Sonata north on Whiskey Road, the coroner’s office said. Barbara Sonner was a passenger in the car that collided with another vehicle near the intersection with Hitchcock Drive Southwest in Aiken, according to the release.
Aiken County EMS took both Sonners to Wellstar MCG hospital in Augusta, Georgia, and they were later released to Anchor Post Acute Care and Rehabilitation in Aiken where they died from the injuries they suffered in the wreck, the coroner’s office said.
No other injuries were reported from the October crash.
There was no word if anybody involved in the collision was wearing a seatbelt.
Information about what caused the crash was not available, but it continues to be investigated by the coroner’s office and Aiken Department of Public Safety.
Through Nov. 16, 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 21 people have died in Aiken County crashes in 2025, according to DPS data. There were 28 deaths in the county in 2024, DPS reported.
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