Driver killed when car runs off SC road and crashes into tree, Highway Patrol says

One person was killed in an early morning crash on a Midlands road, the South Carolina Highway Patrol said.

The single-vehicle collision happened Saturday at about 3:40 a.m. in Orangeburg County, according to Master Trooper Brandon Bolt.

A 2004 Lexus sedan was driving west on Bay Road when the car ran off the right side of the road, Bolt said. The vehicle overcorrected then veered back onto and across the road before going off the left side where it crashed into a tree, according to Bolt.

The driver died, Bolt said.

The Orangeburg County Coroner’s Office has not publicly identified the driver.

Bolt said the driver was the only person in the Lexus, and no other injuries were reported.

There was no word if the driver was wearing a seat belt.

Information about what originally caused the car to veer off the road was not available, but the collision continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol.

Through March 19, at least 184 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2023, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Last year, 1,081 people died in crashes in South Carolina, DPS reported.

At least 11 people have died in Orangeburg County crashes in 2023, according to DPS data. Last year, 46 deaths were reported in the county, DPS reported.