FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 8, 2001
CONTACT: SID GAULDEN, 803-896-8755

ON SOUTH CAROLINA HIGHWAYS OCTOBER 5-7

COLUMBIA – The South Carolina Department of Public Safety announces a preliminary number of six people killed on South Carolina highways from Friday, October 5, at 6 p.m. until Sunday, October 7, at midnight.

A Pickens County woman died after being ejected from the vehicle she was riding in and the driver was charged with felony driving under the influence. The driver also was charged with simple possession of marijuana and driving under suspension. In a separate incident an Aiken County man died when the vehicle he was in ran off the road and hit a tree. The driver of the vehicle also was charged with felony driving under the influence.

In Richland County, one person died when he lost control of his vehicle while attempting to make a high speed turn onto US 601. The driver had been clocked by radar driving at 100 miles per hour on US 378 moments before he lost control of his vehicle, slid through the intersection and overturned. He was not wearing a seat belt. And an 81-year-old woman died Sunday after she entered Interstate –26 headed in the wrong direction. Her vehicle collided head-on with another vehicle near the Peak exit on the interstate.

As of October 8, 760 people had died on South Carolina highways, compared to 821 last year at this time.

Editor’s note: These numbers are preliminary and are based on fatal collisions reported to the South Carolina Highway Patrol as of October 8, 2001. For more information on any of the fatalities, please contact us. Also, the DPS web site address has changed to www.scdps.org. Please bookmark this address and visit the web site often. You will find the latest DPS news there as well as information about the various DPS divisions and their diverse responsibilities.

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SG/129/2001

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