Lexington woman killed in crash that left husband hospitalized is identified by coroner

One person was killed and two others were injured Saturday in a head-on crash in Lexington County, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

Valerie Renee Dimick, a 49-year-old Lexington resident, was a passenger who died in the accident, Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher said Sunday.

The two-vehicle collision happened at about 4 p.m., said Master Trooper Mitchell Ridgeway of the Highway Patrol.

Dimick’s husband was driving a 2006 Saab south on Fish Hatchery Road in Lexington, according to Ridgeway. A 2007 Chevrolet van, driven by a Pelion resident, was heading north on the road when it crossed the center line and hit the Saab head-on, Ridgeway said.

The Dimicks and the Saab driver were taken to Lexington Medical Center, where Valerie Dimick died, according to Ridgeway.

Valerie Dimick was wearing a seat belt, Fisher said.

Dimick’s husband was in stable condition, while the Chevy driver suffered minor injuries, according to Fisher.

No other injuries were reported.

There was no word if either of the drivers were wearing seat belts.

Information about why the Chevy veered into oncoming traffic was not available, but the crash remains under investigation by the Highway Patrol and coroner’s office.

This was the first of at least two deadly crashes in Lexington County over a 10-hour span.

At about 1:55 a.m. Sunday, a Nissan sedan was driving east in the westbound lanes of Interstate 20 and collided with an oncoming Chevrolet SUV, according to Ridgeway. The car driver died at the scene on I-20 and the SUV driver was taken to an area hospital, 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.