Man dies in Chester County wreck

By Jessica Schonberg - Jessica Schonberg

A Hickory Grove man was killed after a car wreck in Chester County on Saturday afternoon.

Steve Lester McBeth Jr., 25, died in a single-car wreck, according to the S.C. Highway Patrol.

According to the highway patrol, McBeth was heading north on Armory Road when he lost control of his 1995 Mercury, went off the right side of the road and struck a tree.

The accident occurred at 4:40 p.m. and McBeth was not wearing a seat belt, according to the highway patrol. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

McBeth died from severe head injuries, said Anna Faircloth, deputy coroner in Chester County. Faircloth said an autopsy will not be performed, but toxicology tests are pending.

The speed limit at the spot of the wreck is 55 miles per hour. According to the highway patrol, McBeth was traveling about 65 miles per hour at the time of the wreck.

Steve McBeth Sr. said his son was a kind person who cared for others and who loved sports.

"He would do anything for anybody," McBeth said. "He'd give a man the shirt off his back when it's cold. That's my son. I raised him that way."

McBeth said his son often traveled to Chester to visit his girlfriend. McBeth Jr. recently proposed and was planning to get married in his father's backyard, McBeth Sr. said.

McBeth Jr. marks the 13th fatality on Chester County roadways this year.