Separate Traffic Incidents Kill Two in Lexington County

On Lexington County's roadways, October has begun on a deadly note.

In the first two days, two people were killed in separate traffic incidents, said S.C. Highway Patrol Sgt. Bryan MacDougald.

On Saturday, Oct. 1 shortly before midnight, Jose Carlos Sanchez-Rodriguez, 26, of Leesville, was walking along Pond Branch Road near the intersection of Reedy O. Smith Road, about 11 miles west of Lexington, when he was struck by a vehicle.

Sanchez-Rodriguez was transported to Palmetto Health Richland, where he was pronounced dead, said Lexington County Coroner Harry Harman. The coroner says an autopsy has been ordered to determine the cause of death.

The SCHP has charged 20-year-old Michael O'Neal Boyd of Saluda with hit-and-run in the incident, MacDougald said. Troopers alleged that Boyd struck the victim with his Ford Crown Victoria and then fled the scene.

In the other incident, which happened around 12:20 a.m. on Sunday, Jessica Lynn Pearson, 23, of Lexington, was killed when she was ejected from a vehicle that left Fish Hatchery Road near Wedgefield Circle and overturned. She was transported to Lexington Medical Center, where she was later pronounced dead, Harman said. 

Harman has scheduled an autopsy for Pearson as well, he added.

Pearson was not wearing a seat belt, MacDougald noted. The driver, 22-year-old Matthew Smoak, of Gaston, was wearing his seat belt, he added, but received some injuries and was taken to Lexington Medical Center for treatment.

No other details were available. Both incidents remain under investigation by the coroner and the SCHP.