Where are you most likely to crash on Lexington County’s busiest roads?
Ask any Lexington County resident about their biggest frustration, and the conversation may inevitably turn to traffic.
But all those cars on the road aren’t just an annoyance. The busiest roadways in the county have produced hundreds of traffic accidents in the last few years, some of them with serious consequences.
The State looked at data from some of the most congested spots in Lexington County, and found that some are more dangerous to drivers than others.
Most of the data requested from the S.C. Department of Public Safety was focused on busy intersections, but one of Lexington County’s most congested stretches of road produced by far the most accidents. In all, the roughly three miles of Sunset Boulevard/U.S. 378 between Interstate 20 and Interstate 26 had 860 total collisions between 2020 and 2025.
Those wrecks injured 259 people in 173 separate collisions, and one crash from 2022 produced the only fatality out of the data examined.
The next most dangerous spot is the intersection of Columbia Avenue, Old Chapin Road and West Main Street in Lexington. This spot had 250 collisions in the time period examined, with 51 injuries reported from 39 crashes. The State looked at data from within a half-mile of each intersection in all directions.
You’re nearly as likely to get into a wreck on the less than half a mile of North Lake Drive between Columbia Avenue and Sunset Boulevard. Two hundred and nine wrecks happened here, and 50 people suffered injuries.
If you get past the interstates on Sunset Boulevard, a driver may still be in danger near the busy intersection with Corley Mill Road, where there were 197 wrecks in the last six years, and 33 injuries. The spot where Highway 1 and U.S. 378 come together into Lexington’s Main Street saw fewer crashes with 123, but was close in the number of injuries at 27.
Some more far-flung intersections had fewer accidents. The intersection of Barr Road and Longs Pond Road near the Michelin plant southwest of Lexington had 49 collisions in the covered period, and 17 injuries. Old Cherokee and Old Chapin roads north of town had 43 collisions and nine injuries.
Weather wasn’t a factor in most of the collisions. Many occurred on clear, dry days, although collisions are slightly more common in the fall. Afternoons were the most common time for accidents, especially during the rush hour between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.
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