One killed, another hurt when vehicle crashes into trees and flips, SC cops say
One person was killed Sunday and another was hospitalized following an early morning crash in the Midlands, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Daniel DeMaio, a 31-year-old Blackstock resident, is the person who died in what Fairfield County Coroner Chris Hill called an accident.
The single-vehicle collision happened at about 3:25 a.m. in Fairfield County, said Master Trooper Brandon Bolt.
Neither the make nor model of the vehicle was provided, but it was driving south on U.S. 21, according to Bolt. Near the intersection with Old River Road, not far from Exit 41 on I-77 in the Winnsboro area of Fairfield County, the vehicle crossed over the centerline and ran off the left side of the road, Bolt said.
The vehicle then hit multiple trees before flipping over as it crashed down an embankment, according to Bolt.
DeMaio was a passenger in the vehicle and died, while the driver was hurt and taken to an area hospital, Bolt said.
DeMaio, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was partially ejected from the vehicle and had to be extricated with the help of rescue squad members and fire service, according to Hill. DeMaio was ultimately pronounced dead on the scene from his injuries, Hill said.
Further information on the driver’s condition was not available.
No other injuries were reported.
There was no word if either the driver was wearing a seatbelt.
Information about what caused the driver to lose control and the vehicle to veer off the road was not available, but the wreck continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol and coroner’s office. An autopsy will be scheduled, according to Hill.
Through Sunday, 430 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2026, according to the state Department of Public Safety. A minimum of 914 people were killed in collisions in South Carolina in 2025, DPS data shows.
At least three people have died in Fairfield County crashes this year, and seven people died in wrecks there in 2025, according to DPS data.
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This story was originally published July 6, 2026 at 8:07 AM with the headline "One killed, another hurt when vehicle crashes into trees and flips, SC cops say."
