South Carolina man airlifted to hospital in Columbia where he died, coroner says
A South Carolina man involved in a recent crash died after being airlifted to a hospital in Columbia, according to the Aiken County Coroner’s Office.
Robert Stempel, a 63-year-old Salley resident, is the man who was killed in what Coroner Darryl Ables called an accident.
The single-vehicle crash happened at about 4:15 p.m. Thursday, Ables said in a news release.
Stempel was driving a 2003 Chevrolet Avalanche pickup truck north on South Dixie Road, according to the release. Near the intersection Jordan Creek Road the Chevy ran off the left side of South Dixie Road and crashed into a tree then flipped over, the coroner’s office said.
Stempel was airlifted to Prisma Health Richland hospital where he died at 6:13 p.m., according to the release.
No other injuries were reported.
There was no word if Stempel was wearing a seat belt.
Information about what caused the Chevy to veer off the road was not available, but the crash continues to be investigated by the coroner’s Office and the South Carolina Highway Patrol. The results of toxicology tests are pending, the coroner’s office said.
Through July 27, at least 484 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2025, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Last year, at least 948 people died in crashes in South Carolina, DPS reported.
At least 10 people have died in Aiken County crashes in 2025, according to DPS data. There were 28 deaths in the county in 2024, DPS reported.
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This story was originally published August 3, 2025 at 10:00 AM with the headline "South Carolina man airlifted to hospital in Columbia where he died, coroner says."
