SUV zig-zags on and off road before crashing into tree, driver is killed, SC cops say
Two people were killed in separate crashes that happened in a six-hour span over the weekend in the same county, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
The first single-vehicle collision happened at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Laurens County, said Master Trooper Mitchell Ridgeway.
A 2007 Chevrolet HHR SUV was driving west on Greenpond Road, according to Ridgeway.
Near the intersection with Heartland Court, the SUV ran off the right side of the road, then the driver overcorrected and the Chevy swerved across the center line and ran off the left side of the road, Ridgeway said. The driver overcorrected again, causing the SUV to veer back across the road and off the right side — where it crashed into a tree, according to Ridgeway.
The driver died at the scene, Ridgeway said.
The Laurens County Coroner’s Office has not publicly identified the driver.
No other injuries were reported.
There was no word if the driver was wearing a seat belt.
Hours later, another person died in a single-vehicle collision in Laurens County.
At about 12:05 a.m. Sunday, the rider of a 2023 Harley-Davidson motorcycle was killed in a crash, according to Ridgeway.
The motorcycle was driving north on S.C. 252 when it ran off the left side of the road, Ridgeway said. The motorcycle crashed into a ditch, then a culvert, and the rider died at the scene, according to Ridgeway.
There was no word if the rider was wearing a helmet.
No other injuries were reported.
As in the earlier wreck, the coroner’s office has not publicly identified the victim.
Information about what caused both vehicles in the unrelated crashes to veer off the roads was not available, but both collisions continue to be investigated by the Highway Patrol.
Through last 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 15 people have died in Laurens County crashes in 2023, according to DPS data. Last year, 24 deaths were reported in the county, DPS reported.
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This story was originally published August 21, 2023 at 8:14 AM with the headline "SUV zig-zags on and off road before crashing into tree, driver is killed, SC cops say."
