Car crashes into deer leaving one person dead and another hurt, SC cops say
One person was killed early Tuesday morning and another was hospitalized after a car hit a deer then crashed into multiple trees, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Ja’kari D. Davis, a 23-year-old Winnsboro resident, is the person who died in the crash, Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford said.
The single-vehicle collision happened at about 1 a.m. in the Blythewood area of Richland County, said Master Trooper Brandon Bolt of the Highway Patrol.
Davis was driving a 2021 Hyundai Elantra was north on Monticello Road when it hit a deer in the road not far from the intersection with Kinsler Road, according to Bolt. The car then ran off the road where it crashed into several trees, Bolt said.
Davis died, according to Bolt.
There was one passenger in the car, and that person was hurt and taken to an area hospital, Bolt said. Further information on the passenger’s condition was not available.
Information about what happened to the deer was not available.
No other injuries were reported.
There was no word if either the driver or passenger were wearing a seatbelt, but the wreck continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol and coroner’s office.
Through Monday, 323 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2026, according to the state Department of Public Safety. A minimum of 914 people were killed in collisions in South Carolina in 2025, DPS data shows.
At least 24 people have died in Richland County crashes this year, and 48 people died in wrecks there in 2025, according to DPS data.
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This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 8:29 AM with the headline "Car crashes into deer leaving one person dead and another hurt, SC cops say."
