One person killed, seven more hospitalized from crash, SC Highway Patrol says

One person was killed Sunday and seven others were hospitalized after a crash at the intersection of two Midlands roads, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

The two-vehicle collision happened at about 2:40 p.m. in Orangeburg County, said Lance Cpl. Lena Butler.

A 2007 Saturn sedan was driving south on U.S. 301/Five Chop Road and it collided with a 2022 Kia sedan that was going east on U.S. 176/Old State Road, according to Butler.

There were six people in the Saturn, and the driver along with three of the passengers were airlifted to an area hospital where one of them died, Butler said. The Highway Patrol did not say if the victim who died was the Saturn driver or one of the passengers.

The Orangeburg County Coroner’s Office has not publicly identified the victim who died.

The two other passengers in the Saturn were also injured and taken by EMS to an area hospital, according to Butler.

There were two people in the Kia and both were hurt in the wreck, Butler said. The Kia driver was also airlifted to an area hospital while the passenger was taken by EMS for treatment, according to Butler.

Further information on the conditions of the victims who survived the crash was not available.

There was no word if any of the people involved in the collision were wearing seat belts.

Information about what caused the cars to crash was not available, but the wreck continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol.

Through Thursday, six people have died on South Carolina roads in 2024, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Last year, 986 people died in crashes in South Carolina, DPS reported.

This is the first fatal crash reported in Orangeburg County in 2024, according to DPS data. There were 34 deaths reported in the county in 2023, DPS reported.