South Carolina woman killed when SUV flips and crashes into ditch, officials say
One person was killed Tuesday when the SUV she was driving flipped and crashed on a Midlands road, according to South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Melinda Jene Horne, a 45-year-old Sumter County resident, is the driver who died in what Sumter County Coroner Robbie Baker called an accident.
The single-vehicle collision happened at about 12:25 p.m. in Sumter County, said Master Trooper William Bennett of the Highway Patrol.
Horne was driving a 2003 GMC Yukon north on Beulah Cuttino Road, according to Bennett. Near the intersection with Tindal Road the SUV ran off the right side of Beulah Cuttino Road, then swerved back onto the road where it overturned, Bennett said.
The SUV then went off the right side of Beulah Cuttino Road again where it crashed into a ditch, according to Bennett.
Horne, who was the only person in the SUV, died, Bennett said.
No other injuries were reported.
There was no word if Horne was wearing a seat belt.
Information about why the SUV originally veered off the road was not available, but the crash remains under investigation by the Highway Patrol and coroner’s office. An autopsy has been scheduled for Friday at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, Baker said.
Through Sunday, 607 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 14 people have died in Sumter County crashes in 2025, according to DPS data. There were 19 deaths in the county in 2024, DPS reported.
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This story was originally published September 10, 2025 at 7:53 AM with the headline "South Carolina woman killed when SUV flips and crashes into ditch, officials say."
