Chester man, Lancaster teen die in separate auto accidents

By Toya Graham and Kimberly Dick - Toya Graham and Kimberly Dick

Two unnrelated Labor Day traffic collisions claimed the lives of a Chester County man and a Lancaster County teen, officials said.

The teen, 17-year-old Jorge Lopez of Ranson Road in Lancaster, died Monday night in a five-vehicle crash on Interstate 77 in York County, according to York County interim coroner Sabrina Gast and the state Highway Patrol. The interstate was closed for several hours after the accident, officials said.

In a separate accident in Chester County, 56-year-old Jerry Wayne Dove of Stone Road in Chester died Monday night in a single-car crash, said Chester County Coroner Terry Tinker and the state Highway Patrol.

"He was a good buddy," said John Boulware, who had known Dove for decades. "He was always around."

On Tuesday, officials released few details about either crash. However, authorities said they believe Lopez had gotten out of a vehicle after a collision near the Mile Marker 83 on I-77 and was struck by at least one vehicle, said Lance Cpl. Jeff Gaskin of the Highway Patrol.

Authorities did not know what caused the vehicle to hit Lopez. No other details were available Monday on the multiple-vehicle collision that remains under investigation, Gaskin said.

Lopez's family could not be reached.

In the Chester fatality, Dove was driving west along Sweet Hope Church Road about 12 miles west of Chester, Gaskin said. Dove's two-door Ford Probe left the road, overcorrected and ran off the road, striking a tree, Gaskin said.

Dove, who was wearing a shoulder seat belt, died at the scene, Tinker said. A toxicology test is pending, and results are expected within eight weeks, he said.

The period from Memorial Day to Labor Day is considered the 100 deadliest days of the year in South Carolina because of the number of highway fatalities. The latest fatalities for Chester and Lancaster counties came on the final day of the period. As of Monday, 616 people had died on South Carolina roads this year, according to the state Department of Public Safety, up from 562 people who died on state roads last year.