A predawn crash on Interstate 26 in Calhoun County left one person dead and another hospitalized early Sunday, after a westbound SUV ran off the road and slammed into a culvert near mile marker 126. The wreck happened around 2:41 a.m., when most of the highway would otherwise have been quiet.
According to WACH, a 2018 Honda Santa Fe traveling westbound ran off the roadway to the right before striking the culvert. Two people were inside the car at the time of the crash. One died, while the other was taken to a local hospital, troopers said.
The South Carolina Highway Patrol is investigating the crash, though no further details about the circumstances leading up to it have been released. Troopers have not said what caused the Santa Fe to leave the roadway at that stretch of highway.
A Stretch of I-26 With a History of Serious Wrecks
This is not the first time that section of Interstate 26 in Calhoun County has drawn troopers to the scene of a deadly crash. In July 2025, a collision near mile marker 120 — just a few miles from Sunday's wreck — killed two people and injured five others, per the same agency's account relayed by WIS News 10. That crash, which happened just after 5:10 p.m. on a Wednesday, involved a westbound 2013 Chevrolet sedan, an eastbound 2018 GMC SUV, and four other vehicles, with the drivers of both the Chevrolet and the GMC killed and five others hospitalized.
Statewide Numbers Show Mixed Picture
Sunday's fatality comes against a backdrop of traffic statistics that, statewide, have trended downward this year. The South Carolina Highway Patrol reported 605 traffic deaths from the start of the year through Labor Day, 54 fewer than the same period in 2025, according to WSPA. That same report noted that several counties in the Upstate were bucking the statewide trend with a slight increase in traffic deaths, even as the overall numbers improved.
The South Carolina Department of Public Safety maintains preliminary fatality figures broken down by county and by day, though those numbers come with caveats about their currency. The agency's statewide daily fatality count was based on reports received as of 9 a.m. on October 15, while its county-by-county breakdown reflected collisions compiled as of 11:59 p.m. on October 11 — both snapshots taken before Sunday's crash occurred.
No further information on the identities of those involved in Sunday's crash has been released, and the Highway Patrol's investigation remains ongoing.
