Six killed in crashes during three-day span on Midlands roads, SC Highway Patrol says

In about a 72-hour span, six people were killed and four others were hurt in crashes on Midlands roads, South Carolina Highway Patrol said.

Two of the four people injured in the separate collisions are children, according to the Aiken County Coroner’s Office.

Two sisters, 3 and 8 years old, were taken to a hospital in Augusta in serious condition after their mother died in a single-vehicle collision on Camp Rawls Road in Wagener, Coroner Darryl Ables said. Further information on the girls’ conditions was not made available.

Their mother, 29-year-old Krisha S. Hobbs, died at the scene of the wreck, according to Ables. It happened at 2:45 p.m. Friday, said Lance Cpl. Tyler Tidwell of South Carolina Highway Patrol.

Neither Hobbs nor her daughters were wearing seat belts when the 2005 Chevrolet Malibu she was driving east on Camp Rawls Road crossed the center line and ran off the road to the left before hitting a tree, according to Tidwell.

Information on what caused the Wagener resident’s car to veer off the road was not available, but toxicology analyses are pending, Ables said.

At least 11 people have been killed in Aiken County crashes in 2021, DPS reported.

Sumter County

Another person was injured in a fatal crash at about the same time Friday, but this unrelated wreck occurred in Sumter County.

At about 2:30 p.m., Myra Rahenkamp, 64, of Florence died at the scene of a two-vehicle collision, Sumter County Coroner Robbie Baker said. An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday at The Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

Rahenkamp was driving a 2020 Honda Fit that was turning left from Wendemere Drive onto U.S. 521, when she was hit on the driver’s side by a 1994 Chevrolet truck that was heading south on the interstate, said Master Trooper David Jones of South Carolina Highway Patrol.

The truck driver was injured and taken to an area hospital, according to Jones. Further information on his condition was not made available.

Both Rahenkamp and the Chevy driver were wearing set belts, Jones said.

At least 13 people have been killed in Sumter County crashes in 2021, DPS reported.

Orangeburg County

Two deadly wrecks happened overnight, from Saturday to Sunday, Highway Patrol reported.

The first happened at about 9:40 p.m. in Orangeburg County, according to Tidwell.

The driver of a 2014 Chevy Impala was killed in a single-vehicle collision on U.S. 21, Tidwell said.

The Impala was heading south on U.S. 21, and near the intersection with Wire Road, it ran off the interstate to the right, according to Tidwell. The driver overcorrected and the Impala then swerved off the left side of U.S. 21 where it hit a ditch, then a tree, and flipped over, Tidwell said.

The driver, who was wearing a seat belt, was the only occupant and no other injuries were reported by Highway Patrol. There was no word about what caused the Impala to veer off the road.

The Orangeburg County Coroner’s Office is expected to publicly identify the driver after notifying the next of kin.

At least 12 people have been killed in Orangeburg County crashes in 2021, DPS reported.

Clarendon County

Another driver was killed in an unrelated single-vehicle collision at about 3:30 a.m. in Clarendon County, according to Tidwell.

The driver, and only person in a 2004 Ram 1500, was heading north on Nelsons Ferry Road, near Jacks Creek Road, when the pickup truck ran off the left side of the road, Tidwell said.

After the truck left the road, it went into a ditch and flipped over several times, according to Tidwell. The driver, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected and died at the scene, Tidwell said.

The Clarendon County Coroner’s Office is expected to publicly identify the driver after notifying the next of kin.

At least four people have been killed in Clarendon County crashes in 2021, DPS reported.

Information on what caused the truck to run off the road was not made available.

Richland County

Two fatal collisions have also been reported in Richland County.

The body of a person who died in an an early Thursday morning wreck was found eight hours after the crash on Interstate 77.

Deshane T. Brown, 32, of Columbia, was driving a Chevy Trailblazer when it went off I-77 near the Farrow Road exit and hit the median barrier, according to the Richland County Coroner’s Office.

The Trailblazer then came back onto the highway and hit the back of a Nissan, according to Highway Patrol. The driver of the Nissan was wearing her seat belt and was taken to an area hospital, but further information on her condition was not made available by Highway Patrol.

There was no word about what caused the Trailblazer to veer off I-77.

In another wreck in Columbia, a person riding a dirt bike on Fairfield Road died after being hit from behind by a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado, according to Tidwell.

After the collision, the Chevy continued driving and left the scene, Tidwell said.

The driver of the Chevy was identified as Jacobi Anthony Green, and the 27-year-old Columbia resident was taken into custody by the Richland County Sheriff’s Department and charged with felony DUI with death, hit-and-run with death, resisting arrest, driving under suspension (first offense), and expired tags, according to Tidwell.

At least 17 people have been killed in Richland County crashes in 2021, DPS reported.

338 deaths on SC roads

Through Friday afternoon, 338 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2021, according to the state Department of Public Safety.

Of those, 241 had access to seat belts, but 112 were not wearing them, DPS data shows.

All of the collisions continue to be investigated by Highway Patrol.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.