Colleton man killed, others injured in unrelated crashes that have occurred in Colleton

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By HEATHER RUPPE

A 21-year-old Colleton man has died in a fatal weekend car crash after his vehicle went about 12 feet into the air and struck trees.

Montrel Jones, 21, of Walterboro, died at the scene of the April 15th crash, according to Colleton County Coroner Richard Harvey.

The victim was driving a Honda Accord in the southbound lane of Jefferies Highway (U.S. Highway 15) at about 8:43 a.m. when the car left the roadway “at a high rate of speed,” according to Colleton County Fire-Rescue Chief Barry McRoy. The vehicle then hit a driveway culvert, which made the car go airborne. The car then struck several trees approximately 12 feet off the ground, said McRoy.

The victim was not wearing a seat belt. He was ejected during the crash.

“Firefighter-Paramedics found the man to be deceased from multiple traumatic injuries and notified the Coroner’s Office, who responded to the scene,” said McRoy. “One lane of Jefferies Highway was closed for about one hour and 30 minutes while the SC Highway Patrol investigated the accident.”

According to Lance Cpl. Nick Pye with the S.C. Highway Patrol, the crash occurred near Zeke Drive. Pye said the collision remains under investigation by the highway patrol.

This fatal crash is one in a string of serious and/or fatal events that have occurred throughout the county in recent days, including one suicide-by-car death.

On Thursday, April 14th, a drifter who is believed to have been coming from Georgia purposefully walked in front of a moving tractor trailer on Interstate 95, just south of Augusta Highway.

The victim is 28-year-old Grant Gelderman, according to Colleton County Coroner Richard Harvey.

“The tractor trailer pulled to the breakdown lane and also called 9-1-1. Witnesses stated the man stepped into the roadway,” said McRoy. “Callers could not advise the exact location. Emergency responders searched the median from mile marker 72 north and south, before locating the man in high grass at the cable barrier between Augusta Hwy and the entrance ramp to I-95.”

One lane of I-95 southbound was closed for 2 hours while the SC Highway Patrol and Coroner’s Office completed their investigations.

The drivers of the vehicles involved in this incident were not injured, said McRoy.

In an additional and unrelated incident, two more people were injured in a two-vehicle crash that occurred on Green Pond Highway on April 15th at about 8 a.m. The crash occurred when a Ford Ranger pick-up collided with a Chevrolet Pickup in front of Precious Metals Recycling on Green Pond Highway.

The adult male driver of the Ford Ranger was trapped in the wreckage, according to McRoy.

The adult male driver of the Chevrolet truck received “non-life-threatening injuries,” he said.

This accident is also being investigated by the S.C. Highway Patrol.