A 17-year-old from Piedmont died early Monday morning after the truck he was riding in ran off S.C. Highway 81, struck a gas line and a parked boat, and pushed the boat into a home in Anderson County. Aiden David Schulz was pronounced dead at the scene, while two other people in the vehicle were hospitalized and a fourth occupant was not injured.
According to the WYFF 4 report, the crash happened around 1:10 a.m. as the truck traveled westbound on Highway 81, per the South Carolina Highway Patrol. The vehicle ran off the roadway before striking the gas line, and the Anderson County Coroner's Office says the truck then pushed a parked boat into a nearby home. The report did not identify the vehicle's make or provide additional details about the crash sequence.
The coroner's office determined Schulz died from a traumatic neck injury and multiple traumatic injuries, and it ruled his death an accident. Three other people were in the truck at the time of the crash; two were taken to the hospital and one was uninjured, the Highway Patrol reported. The exact conditions of the two hospitalized occupants have not been released.
Investigation Still Underway Along Rural Corridor
What caused the truck to leave the roadway remains under investigation. South Carolina law requires investigating officers to file an official TR-310 Traffic Collision Report with the state's Department of Motor Vehicles whenever a crash results in injury, death, or significant property damage, according to a summary of South Carolina Code § 56-5-1270. For crashes of this severity, the South Carolina Highway Patrol typically deploys its Multi-Disciplinary Accident Investigation Team, a specialized unit that conducts collision reconstruction using scene reconstruction, photographs and calculations, as outlined by Holland & Usry.
The crash also raises questions under state property law, since the truck struck a gas line, a boat, and a home before coming to rest. Under South Carolina Code § 56-5-1250, a driver who collides with a fixture or private property near a highway must take reasonable steps to notify the property owner or law enforcement, a requirement Hoodline detailed in its earlier coverage of a separate Anderson County home crash near Simpson Road last month. Whether utility crews faced any gas leak or fire hazard at the Highway 81 scene has not been reported.
Coroner's Office Tracks a Persistent Local Problem
The Anderson County Office of the Coroner, which investigated Schulz's death, determined the cause and manner of his death. Coroners determine cause and manner of death, and in this case the office attributed Schulz's death to a traumatic neck injury and multiple traumatic injuries before ruling it accidental.
Anderson County has logged a troubling pattern of fatal wrecks in recent weeks. Hoodline reported on a fatal head-on collision on Belton's Breazeale Road that killed Piedmont resident Waymond Ray Mashburn just days before this crash, and covered a fatal box truck collision on Townville's Highway 243 the following day. Earlier in August, Hoodline also reported on another vehicle crashing into an Anderson County home near Simpson Road, and on a separate fatal crash where coroner details remained scarce.
County Faces Broader Traffic Safety Push
Anderson County recorded 220 fatal traffic crashes between 2017 and 2021, and traffic safety statistics compiled by Armada Law show the county recorded between 8 and 30 or more traffic deaths annually, including 48 fatalities in 2020.
No verified analysis of heavy commuter traffic, shift changes at major industrial employers like Michelin and Electrolux, or other factors affecting collision risks along Upstate corridors was available. Statewide, South Carolina recorded 91 fatal crashes resulting in 96 traffic fatalities in 2025, according to state Department of Public Safety figures previously reported by Hoodline. No further details about the cause of Monday's crash on Highway 81 had been released as of Monday afternoon.
