One man was killed and a second seriously injured in a single-car wreck on Sniders Highway (S.C. Hwy. 63) just west of Scuffletown Road on Sunday Dec. 6 at 1:14 a.m.
Another motorist found the vehicle in the ditch and notified 9-1-1. Fire-Rescue units arrived to find the car upright with heavy damage.
The 2008 Lincoln was traveling north at a high rate of speed when the driver failed to negotiate a curve. The car traveled a substantial distance off of the roadway before striking an embankment and flipping over multiple times.
The 18-year-old male driver was ejected and found on the ground near the back of the car. He was unconscious following the accident, but regained consciousness. He told firefighter-paramedics that another person was in the car with him. The crew began treating his multiple injuries and requested an additional ambulance, engine and the CARE Flight medical helicopter to respond to the scene.
Firefighter-paramedics searched the dark highway and the wooded area around the car and located the body of the 19-year-old male passenger about 175 feet from the car. He had no signs of life. Deputy Coroner Wayne Walker said Ricardo Martinez-Reyes, 19, of Walterboro died of multiple trauma.