The Anderson County Coroner's Office said one person died and another was airlifted to a hospital after a trash truck and pickup collided at Highway 413 and Hawkins Lane in Anderson County at about 6:23 a.m. Monday.
In a report citing the coroner's office, WYFF confirmed the death and airlift. The people involved had not been identified, and details of their injuries had not been released.
Anderson County's figures rose year over year, while the statewide count moved in the opposite direction. The reporting periods differ, however.
How the Fatality Counts Compare
South Carolina Department of Public Safety figures show Anderson County recorded 37 traffic fatalities from Jan. 1 through Oct. 11, 2026, compared with 29 over the same dates in 2025. Statewide preliminary figures from the South Carolina Department of Public Safety counted 693 people killed in 657 fatal collisions as of 9 a.m. Oct. 16, 2026, compared with 751 people killed in 709 fatal collisions during the corresponding period in 2025. Each year-over-year comparison uses matching dates, but the county figures end Oct. 11 and the statewide figures Oct. 16, so they are not same-date comparisons.
A Stretch of Highway With a History
Highway 413 saw a single-vehicle crash near Shirley Store Road in March 2026 that killed a 34-year-old woman, according to prior reporting. Fox Carolina reported that a separate fatal crash occurred at Highway 413 and Haynie Drive on May 15, 2026, when a southbound pickup turning east collided with a northbound motorcycle; the motorcyclist died. TheCount.com reported that the pickup's driver faced felony DUI charges.
Those earlier wrecks fit a broader pattern state safety officials have flagged: non-interstate state routes like Highway 413, with higher speed limits and frequent turning access points, account for a disproportionate share of South Carolina's fatal crashes. Secondary routes alone make up nearly 30 percent of fatal collisions statewide, according to South Carolina Department of Public Safety highway safety reports.
The Added Risk of Sharing the Road With Trash Trucks
Commercial refuse trucks bring their own set of hazards to roads like this one — frequent stops, large blind spots, and heavy weight dynamics that complicate collisions with smaller vehicles. That risk shows up in national labor data too: federal Bureau of Labor Statistics figures released in February 2026 ranked refuse and recyclable material collection as the fifth most dangerous civilian occupation in the country, with 37.4 fatal work injuries per 100,000 full-time workers in 2024.
South Carolina law requires drivers to slow down and, when safe on a multi-lane road, move over for stopped emergency, service, or municipal vehicles with warning lights activated, under South Carolina Code § 56-5-1538. It is not yet known whether that statute, right-of-way, or speed played any role in Monday's collision at Hawkins Lane.
Investigation Expected to Fall to Highway Patrol
Fatal and commercial motor vehicle collisions in Anderson County typically fall under South Carolina Highway Patrol Troop 3, with the state's Multi-Disciplinary Accident Investigation Team available for complex reconstruction work involving laser mapping and forensic evidence. State law also requires investigating officers to file a formal TR-310 collision report with the Department of Motor Vehicles whenever a crash results in death or injury, documenting driver actions, road conditions, and any vehicle defects.
Monday's crash is the latest in a string of fatal Anderson County wrecks this fall that Hoodline has tracked, including the death of an 89-year-old Williamston woman days after an Anderson intersection crash, a pedestrian death on South McDuffie Street, and a pre-dawn highway death of a 59-year-old Seneca woman. No further details on the cause of Monday's crash or the conditions of those involved had been released as of this writing.
