4 killed in two-car crash that closed I-77 in South Carolina for hours, officials say

Four people died in a two-car crash that closed a part of Interstate 77 in South Carolina for seven hours Sunday, officials said.

The collision happened at about 3:10 a.m. Sunday near the 69-mile marker, S.C. Highway Patrol Master Trooper Gary Miller said in a voice recorded media release Sunday afternoon.

The driver of a 2012 Honda Civic and two passengers were killed, Miller said. Another passenger in the car was transported to an area hospital with injuries.

The driver of the other vehicle, a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado pickup, also died, Miller said.

The Honda, traveling south on I-77, was hit head-on by the pickup truck, which was headed north in the wrong direction in the southbound lane of the highway, Miller said.

The collision remains under investigation.

The Chester County Coroner’s Office has not released the names of the people who died.

When several rescue units arrived on the scene, including Chester Rescue, one car was overturned, Richburg-Fire Rescue said on Facebook.

One driver, who was entrapped in a vehicle, did not survive, the fire department said.

“Three people were ejected and one severely injured,” Richburg-Fire Rescue said.

The stretch of I-77 was blocked for seven hours during the investigation, according to the fire department.

Police officials made public safety alerts about the fatality and road closure on social media sites.

I-77 South between exits 73 and 65 in the York and Chester county area was “shut down completely” because of a multiple-car crash with deaths, the York County Sheriff’s Office said on social media around 7 a.m. Sunday.

The southbound lanes reopened around 10 a.m., Miller said on Twitter.

This story was originally published September 11, 2022 at 9:34 AM.