AC Flora High School student killed in wreck remembered as outgoing, funny
An A.C. Flora High School student was killed in a car crash over the weekend, officials said.
Bailey Pratt, 17, died in a single-vehicle collision Saturday night on Garners Ferry Road, Richland County Coroner Gary Watts told The State.
Bailey was a junior and baseball player at AC Flora, according to posts on the school baseball team’s Twitter and Facebook pages.
“The Falcon Baseball program sends sincere condolences and prayers to the Pratt family,” the posts said. “Rest In Peace Bailey.”
Other baseball coaches and teams from around the state also commented on Bailey’s death.
AC Flora coach Andy Hallett told The State he learned about Bailey’s death in a phone call early Sunday morning. The coach said he met with Bailey’s parents Monday.
A drive-by vigil will be held at Bailey’s house on Monday evening, Hallett said.
A crisis team was at A.C. Flora High Monday to provide counseling and support to any students and staff members having difficulty coping with Bailey’s death, Richland County School District One spokeswoman Karen York told The State.
“We are deeply saddened at the tragic loss of a young life,” York told The State. “We extend our condolences to Bailey’s family, friends, classmates, and teammates. They are in our thoughts and prayers.”
AC Flora Principal Susan Childs said Bailey was a good student who had an extremely outgoing personality and a large circle of friends, according to York.
The 6-foot-3 teen was a starting right fielder and closer on the Falcons JV baseball team, but the junior was expected to provide depth in the bullpen on the varsity level this season, according to Hallet, who coached Bailey this fall on the Upstate Mavericks travel ball team.
“Bailey was funny and would make you laugh,” Hallet said. “He was highly competitive and represented the program well. We knew he was going to help us on the mound and throw some innings.”
The crash happened shortly after 11 p.m. on Garners Ferry Road near Ka Ha Alda Trail — just past Lower Richland High School, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Bailey was the only person in a 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe when the vehicle ran off the right side of the road and overturned, Cpl. Sonny Collins said. The teen was not wearing a seat belt, according to Collins.
Bailey was ejected from the vehicle and died of multiple traumatic injuries, Watts said.
Through Friday afternoon, 941 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2020, according to the Department of Public Safety. Of those, 640 of the victims had access to seat belts, but 345 were not wearing them, DPS reported.
There have been at least 46 people killed in Richland County crashes in 2020, and seat belts were not used in 33 of the deaths, DPS data shows.
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This story was originally published November 30, 2020 at 9:55 AM with the headline "AC Flora High School student killed in wreck remembered as outgoing, funny."
