Man killed after being hit in yard by car that ran off SC road, cops say
Two pedestrians were killed in separate crashes on South Carolina roads Wednesday, the South Carolina Highway Patrol said.
One of the victims was a North Augusta man who was doing yard work when he was hit by a runaway pickup truck, Aiken County Coroner Darryl Ables said.
Delgado Morales, 42, was in the yard at about 7 p.m., when he was run down by the truck that veered off the right side of Belvedere-Clearwater Road, near the intersection with Duncan Road, according to Ables. That’s about 50 miles southwest of Lexington.
After colliding with Morales, the truck smashed into a utility pole, Cpl. Sonny Collins said.
Morales was taken to an area hospital where he died less than an hour after the collision, Ables said. An autopsy is scheduled for Friday in Newberry County, according to the coroner’s office.
The driver was injured in the wreck and taken to an area hospital, according to Collins. Further information on the driver’s condition was not available.
There was no word on what caused the truck to run off the road, or possible criminal charges, but the crash remains under investigation by Highway Patrol.
In an unrelated collision, another pedestrian was killed after being hit by a vehicle in Saluda County, Master Trooper Brandon Bolt said.
The pedestrian died after being taken by EMS to a hospital following the 6:49 a.m. crash, according to Bolt.
The Saluda County Coroner’s Office will publicly identify the person after notifying the next of kin.
The pedestrian was not wearing reflective clothing while walking across North Wise Road and on to U.S. 178, Bolt said. That’s about 35 miles west of Lexington.
A 2020 Ford Edge collided with the pedestrian on U.S. 178, according to Bolt.
The driver, and only person in the SUV, was wearing a seat belt and was not hurt in the crash, Bolt said.
Information on possible criminal charges was not available, but the collision is being investigated by Highway Patrol.
Through Thursday morning, 628 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2020 — and 99 were pedestrians — according the Department of Public Safety.
There have been four people killed in crashes in Saluda County this year, and this is the first fatal collision involving a pedestrian, DPS reported.
Morales was the fourth pedestrian killed in a Aiken County crash in 2020, and the county’s 17th traffic fatality, according to DPS.
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This story was originally published September 3, 2020 at 10:22 AM with the headline "Man killed after being hit in yard by car that ran off SC road, cops say."
