Columbia man killed when car crashes into truck on I-26, SC coroner says
One person was killed Sunday night in a crash that caused a traffic jam on Interstate 26, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Hector A. Colorado Cogua, a 70-year-old Columbia resident, is the driver who died in the wreck, Newberry County Coroner Laura Kneece said Monday.
The three-vehicle collision happened at about 7:40 p.m. on a stretch of I-26 in Newberry County not far from the line with Lexington County, said Master Trooper Mitchell Ridgeway of the Highway Patrol.
A 2017 Toyota Camry, 2025 International box truck and 2025 Nissan Sentra were all driving east toward Columbia on I-26, according to Ridgeway. At the 88-mile marker, the Camry stopped for traffic and the box truck was slowing when it was hit from behind by the Nissan driven by Cogua, Ridgeway said.
The collision caused the box truck to hit the rear of the Toyota, according to Ridgeway.
Cogua died at the scene, Ridgeway said.
Neither the box truck driver nor the Camry driver were hurt, and no other injuries were reported.
There was no word if anyone involved in the wreck was wearing a seatbelt, but the crash continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol and coroner’s office. An autopsy will be performed this week, Kneece said.
Through Sunday, 404 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 three people have died in Newberry County crashes this year, and 12 people died in wrecks there in 2025, according to DPS data.
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