Conditions caused crash where SC woman died & three more were hurt, coroner says
A South Carolina woman was killed, and three other people were hospitalized in a weekend crash that was caused by road conditions, according to the Lexington County Coroner’s Office.
Elaina Lynn Valencia, a 39-year-old Batesburg resident, died Saturday night in what Coroner Margaret Fisher called an accident.
The two-vehicle collision happened at about 7:10 p.m. in Lexington, said Master Trooper Brandon Bolt of the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Valencia was driving a 2005 Toyota pickup truck south on U.S. 1/Augusta Highway, according to Bolt. Near the intersection with Jamestown Court the pickup crossed left of the center line and crashed into a 2024 Ford van that was driving north on U.S. 1, Bolt said.
Valencia, who was not wearing a seatbelt, died at the scene, according to Fisher.
Both a passenger in the pickup along with the driver and a passenger in the van were hurt and taken to an area hospital, officials said. Further information on the surviving victims’ conditions was not available.
No other injuries were reported.
There was no word if any of the surviving victims were wearing seatbelts.
Fisher said road conditions led to the pickup veering into oncoming traffic. It was snowing in the Midlands on Saturday night, and temperatures were below freezing, according to the National Weather Service.
The crash continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol and coroner’s office.
Through Jan. 25, at least 43 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2026, according to the state Department of Public Safety. A minimum of 914 people were killed in collisions in South Carolina in 2025, DPS data shows.
At least four people have died in Lexington County crashes this year, where 40 people died in crashes in 2025, according to DPS data.
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This story was originally published February 2, 2026 at 7:26 AM.
