Teenager killed when car runs off SC road and crashes into tree, coroner says
A teenager was killed Sunday in an early morning crash, according to the Lexington County Coroner’s Office.
George Hall Gomez Jr., a 17-year-old Leesville resident, died in what Coroner Margaret Fisher called an accident.
At about 5:25 a.m., a 2011 Chevrolet Cruze was driving south on Jim Spence Road, said Master Trooper Mitchell Ridgeway of the South Carolina Highway Patrol. That’s in a part of Lexington between S.C. 6 and Edmund Highway.
Near the intersection with Addie Lucas Road, the Chevy ran off the right side of Jim Spence Road where it hit a culvert then crashed into a tree, according to Ridgeway.
Gomez was taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead from the injuries he suffered in the wreck, Fisher said.
No other injuries were reported in the single-vehicle collision.
Gomez was wearing a seatbelt, according to Fisher.
Information about what caused the Chevy to veer off the road was not available, but the collision continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol and coroner’s office.
Through Oct. 19, at least 717 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2025, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Last year, at least 948 people died in crashes in South Carolina, DPS reported.
At least 31 people have died in Lexington County crashes in 2025, according to DPS data. There were 50 deaths in the county in 2024, DPS reported.
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This story was originally published October 27, 2025 at 6:53 AM with the headline "Teenager killed when car runs off SC road and crashes into tree, coroner says."
