Car flips over into Lexington County creek killing teenager, coroner says
A teenager was killed Sunday when a car crashed into a creek in Lexington County, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Jorge Wyatt Rodriguez-Coleman, a 19-year-old West Columbia resident, died at the scene of the accident, Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher said Monday.
The single-vehicle collision happened at about 2:20 p.m., near the intersection of Old Barnwell Road and White Knoll Road, said Master Trooper David Jones of the Highway Patrol. That’s within a half mile of White Knoll Elementary and White Knoll Middle schools.
A 2008 Cadillac was driving west on Old Barnwell Road when it ran off the right side of the road, overturned and landed in a creek, according to Jones.
Rodriguez-Coleman was not wearing a seat belt, Fisher said.
No other injuries were reported.
There was no word about what caused the Cadillac to veer off the road, but the crash continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol.
Through Thursday, 360 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2022, according to the Department of Public Safety. Last year, 1,194 people died in crashes in South Carolina, DPS reported.
At least 12 people have been killed in Lexington County crashes in 2022, according to DPS. There were 57 deaths there last year, DPS data shows.
