3 dead, including children brother and sister, identified in fatal York County crash
Three people from York were killed, including two child siblings, Tuesday in a crash on one of York County’s busiest roads, officials said.
York County Coroner Sabrina Gast said Wednesday the persons who died were: Cole Labrozzi, 29; Kaydence Timmons, 8; and Justin Whitener, 7.
The two child siblings were riding with Labrozzi at the time of the crash, Gast said. Labrozzi is not related to the children but was responsible for them at the time of the crash, Gast said.
Both children were students at Hunter Street Elementary School, said Tim Cooper, spokesman for the York school district.
Counselors were at the school Wednesday to assist staff during a scheduled remote learning day where no students are at the school building, Cooper said. Additional counselors will be at the school Thursday as classmates of the children return to the building, Cooper said.
“We are prepared to assist any staff member or child who needs it during this very difficult time,” Cooper said.
The two-vehicle wreck happened around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday on S.C. 5 near Park Place, just east of the York County Sheriff’s Office, according to Master Trooper Gary Miller of the S.C. Highway Patrol.
A 2000 Jaguar driven by Labrozzi crossed the center line of the highway and was struck by a car heading in the opposite direction, Miller said. The three people in the Jaguar died at the scene, Miller said.
The driver of the other vehicle, a 54-year-old woman from Chester, was injured and taken to a hospital, Miller said.
The woman remained hospitalized Wednesday, officials said.
The crash site is east of the York city limits, close to the intersection of S.C. 5 and S.C. 161. The fatal collision remains under investigation by the S.C. Department of Public Safety and the coroner’s office.
Traffic on S.C. 5 was detoured for hours to Shiloh Road, directing motorists to S.C. 161 toward Rock Hill and Interstate 77, according to the sheriff’s office.
S.C. re-opened around 9 p.m. Tuesday.
York County has had at least nine fatalities from car accidents in 2021, according to statistics from the Department of Public Safety and Rock Hill Police Department.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
This story was originally published March 16, 2021 at 7:37 PM.
