Lexington County coroner identifies truck driver killed in crash
One person was killed and another hospitalized following an early Sunday morning crash on a road in Lexington County, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Juan Carlos Chavero, 38, of Swansea, died at the scene, Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher said.
The two-vehicle collision happened just before 1 a.m. on S.C. 6, near the intersection with Blackville Road, Lance Cpl. Tyler Tidwell said. That’s in the Gaston area, about four miles from Hood’s P-nuts.
Chavero was driving a 2000 Chevrolet pickup truck, and died after it smashed into a 2014 Nissan Murano that was also traveling on S.C. 6, according to Tidwell.
The driver of the Nissan was taken to Lexington Medical Center, with what Tidwell called “non-life-threatening injuries.” Further information on the person’s condition was not available.
One of the vehicles crossed over the left side of the center line, leading to the crash, Tidwell said. The directions the SUV and truck were heading is still being determined by Highway Patrol, which continues to investigate the collision.
Tidwell said the drivers were the only occupants of the Chevy and Nissan, and no other injuries were reported.
Neither driver involved in the wreck was wearing a seat belt, Highway Patrol reported.
Through Friday, 346 people have died on South Carolina roads in 2020, according to the Department of Public Safety. Of those deaths, 243 of the victims had access to seat belts, and 132 were not wearing safety restraints, DPS reported.
Information on possible criminal charges was not available, and there is no word on what caused one of the vehicles to veer left before the collision.
This was one of at least three fatal crashes that happened on South Carolina roads late Saturday night, or early Sunday morning.
One person died in a single-vehicle collision in Colleton County that happened just before midnight, according to Tidwell. It was just after midnight when a motorcycle rider was killed after being ejected from the bike while riding on Interstate 26, the Charleston Police Department said.
Highway Patrol said it is also investigating a non-fatal hit-and-run collision that happened in Abbeville County at about 9 p.m.
This story was originally published June 7, 2020 at 8:57 AM with the headline "Lexington County coroner identifies truck driver killed in crash."
