Driver killed when car ran off SC road is identified by Lexington County coroner
One person was killed late Saturday night when a car ran off a Lexington County road and crashed, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Melvin Z. Etsell, a 33-year-old Lexington resident, is the person who died in what Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher called an accident.
The single-vehicle collision happened at about 11:30 p.m., said Cpl. Nick Pye.
Etsell was driving a 2001 Ford sedan west on Old Orangeburg Road, according to Pye. Near the intersection with Chestnut Street the Ford ran off the right side of the road and crashed into a ditch, Pye said.
Etsell, who was not wearing a seatbelt, died at the scene, Fisher said.
No other injuries were reported.
Information about what caused the Ford to veer off the road was not available, but the wreck continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol and coroner’s office.
Through Sept. 21, at least 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 27 people have died in Lexington County crashes in 2025, according to DPS data. There were 50 deaths in the county in 2024, DPS reported.
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This story was originally published September 28, 2025 at 10:39 AM with the headline "Driver killed when car ran off SC road is identified by Lexington County coroner."
