News In Brief - June 17, 2008

By Toya Graham - Toya Graham

York County approves budget

The York County Council approved its budget Monday, which calls for no increases in overall property taxes next year.

This allows the county to move forward with plans to build seven new fire substations, six of which are in the western half of the county.

Slight tax increases were approved for the Rural Fire Board and two fire districts, Flint Hill and Newport. Part of the rural fire tax increase, 80 cents on a $100,000 house, will go toward the new substations.

To counter rising costs for some county services, residents will have to pay higher fees at the planning department and animal control and for disposing of solid waste. Adopting an animal will cost $21 more, and dumping construction and demolition waste will cost $10 more per ton. The county household waste fees will go up $6 a ton.

The budget also includes 52 newstaff positions, including 16 detention and correction officers to patrol the expanded jail and new prison expected to open this fall and project engineers for the Pennies for Progress programs.

-- Kimberly Dick

Lancaster woman dies in wreck

LANCASTER -- A 47-year-old Lancaster woman died after she was ejected from the vehicle she was driving early Sunday morning, according to the S.C. Highway Patrol.

Patricia Coleman was traveling north on Hoke Road about 10 miles south of Lancaster around 12:55 a.m. when her 1999 Ford SUV ran off the right side of the road and struck a road sign, trooper Jeff Gaskin said. The vehicle then veered back across the roadway and ran off the left side of the road, hitting a second sign, flipping and landing on an embankment.

Gaskin said Coleman, who was alone in the car, was ejected when the car flipped. She was not wearing a seat belt, and troopers believe alcohol may have been a factor, Gaskin said. Other details of the crash are still under investigation.

Coleman died from head injuries, said Deputy Lancaster County Coroner Shannon Evans.

-- Adam O'Daniel

Man shot while driving on Saluda Street

A Rock Hill man was shot Monday night as he traveled along Saluda Street, resulting in a single-car collision, officials said.

The man, whose identity was not available, was transported to Piedmont Medical Center, said Lt. Jerry Waldrop of the Rock Hill Police Department.

The incident happened around 8 p.m. Monday as the man drove an older model silver-colored Chevy Impala near Saluda Street and Albright Road, Waldrop said.

"When officers arrived at the scene, they found one male slumped over the steering wheel," Waldrop said. "At first they thought it was an automobile accident. When EMS arrived, they discovered he had a gunshot wound to the chest."

The man's car crashed into several cement culverts, Waldrop said.

"It looks like he hit about 11 of them," Waldrop said.

No one was arrested in the shooting, Waldrop said. Authorities did not recover a handgun or bullet casings, Waldrop said.

Anyone with information about the shooting should call the Rock Hill Police Department at 329-7211 or CrimeStoppers of York County at 1-877-409-4321.