Driver killed when SUV flips over and crashes into tree, SC Highway Patrol says

A South Carolina man was killed when the SUV he was driving flipped over and crashed into a tree, the Aiken County Coroner’s Office said.

Delmer Walton, a 39-year-old Blackville resident, died at the scene of the early Saturday morning wreck, Coroner Darryl Ables said in a news release.

The single-vehicle collision happened at about 2:50 a.m. on S.C. 4/Surrey Race Road near the intersection with Kittery Street, said Master Trooper Gary Miller of the South Carolina Highway Patrol. That’s near the Salley area of Aiken County.

Walton was driving a 2004 Toyota Highlander east on S.C. 4 when the SUV ran off the right side of the road, flipped over and hit a tree, according to Miller.

Walton was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the SUV, Ables said.

Miller said Walton was the only person in the SUV and no other injuries were reported.

Information about what caused the SUV to veer off the road was not available but the collision continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol. Results from toxicology tests are pending, according to Ables.

Through Nov. 27, at least 957 people have died on South Carolina roads in 2022, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Last year, 1,194 people died in crashes in South Carolina, DPS reported.

At least 27 people have died in Aiken County crashes in 2022, DPS reported. Last year, 36 deaths were reported there, according to DPS data.