Georgia man killed in 5-vehicle crash on highway in South Carolina, coroner says
One driver was killed and three more were injured Tuesday in a multi-vehicle crash, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Rafael B. Veloz, a 34-year-old Buford, Georgia resident, is the driver who died in what Oconee County Coroner Karl Addis called an accident.
The five-vehicle collision happened at about 6 a.m. on a stretch of Interstate 85 in Oconee County, said Master Trooper Mitchell Ridgeway of the Highway Patrol.
Veloz was driving a 2013 Honda sedan north on I-85, according to Ridgeway. At the 2 mile marker, not far from the state line separating Georgia and South Carolina, the Honda was one of three northbound vehicles that was slowing for construction traffic when it was hit from behind by a 2016 Freightliner tractor trailer that was also driving north on I-85, Ridgeway said.
That collision set off a chain reaction of crashes, where the Honda then hit the rear of a 2019 Chevrolet pickup truck, and that vehicle went on to hit the back of a 1998 Chevy pickup, according to Ridgeway. Both the tractor trailer and the Honda ran across the cable median barrier and collided with a 2015 Chevy pickup that was driving south on I-85, Ridgeway said.
Veloz was entrapped in the Honda and was extricated, according to Addis. Veloz suffered blunt force trauma to his chest and died at the scene at 7:10 a.m., Addis said.
The drivers of the three separate Chevy pickups were all hurt and taken to an area hospital, according to Ridgeway. Further information on their conditions was not available.
Ridgeway said that the tractor trailer driver was not hurt, and no other injuries were reported.
There was no word if any of the drivers involved in the wreck were wearing a seat belt, but the crash continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol.
Through Sunday, 637 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 13 people have died in Oconee County crashes in 2025, according to DPS data. There were 15 deaths in the county in 2024, DPS reported.
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This story was originally published September 24, 2025 at 7:59 AM with the headline "Georgia man killed in 5-vehicle crash on highway in South Carolina, coroner says."
