Driver of car going the wrong way on I-20 in overnight crash identified by SC coroner
One person was killed and another was injured early Sunday morning in a head-on crash in Lexington County, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Brian Francis Vyhnal — a 55-year-old Hephzibah, Georgia resident — died in the accident, Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher said.
The two-vehicle collision happened at about 2 a.m. on Interstate 20, said Master Trooper Mitchell Ridgeway of the Highway Patrol.
Vyhnal was driving a 2015 Nissan sedan east on the westbound lanes of I-20, according to Ridgeway. At the 53 mile marker, the car collided with an oncoming Chevrolet SUV that a Lexington resident was driving west, Ridgeway said.
Vyhnal was not wearing a seat belt and died at the scene, according to Fisher.
Fisher said three adults and one minor in the Chevy were hurt and taken to Lexington Medical Center. Further information on their conditions was not available, but Fisher said their injuries were considered minor.
There was no word if any of the occupants in the Chevy were wearing seat belts.
Information about why the Nissan was driving in the wrong direction on the westbound lanes of I-20 was not available, but the crash remains under investigation by the Highway Patrol and coroner’s office.
All of the westbound lanes on I-20 were temporarily blocked, and the scene wasn’t cleared until about 4:30 a.m., according to the South Carolina Department of Transportation.
There was a separate fatal collision in Lexington County on Saturday afternoon, when two vehicles collided in the Pelion area, according to Ridgeway. A passenger in one of the vehicles died, while both drivers were hospitalized, Ridgeway said.
Through Wednesday, 624 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2023, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Last year, 1,091 people died in crashes in South Carolina, DPS reported.
At least 27 people have died in Lexington County crashes in 2023, according to DPS data. Last year, 43 deaths were reported in the county, DPS reported.
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This story was originally published August 20, 2023 at 8:41 AM with the headline "Driver of car going the wrong way on I-20 in overnight crash identified by SC coroner."
