Car driving wrong way on interstate crashes head-on into van, SC cops say

One person was killed Monday night in a crash that left another person hospitalized and caused a lengthy traffic jam on an interstate, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

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The two-vehicle collision happened at about 7:25 p.m. on Interstate 385 in Laurens County, said Master Trooper Mitchell Ridgeway.

At the 7-mile marker on I-385, a 2006 Honda Accord was driving north in the southbound lane, according to Ridgeway. The Honda crashed head-on with a 2026 Ford transit van that was driving south in the southbound lanes, Ridgeway said.

The Honda driver died at the scene, according to Ridgeway. The Laurens County Coroner’s Office has not publicly identified the Honda driver.

Ridgeway said that the Ford driver was hurt and taken to an area hospital. Further information on the Ford driver’s condition was not available.

No other injuries were reported, but the wreck caused a traffic jam on I-385 that lasted for hours.

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There was no word if either of the drivers were wearing seatbelts.

Information about why the Honda was driving the wrong way on the interstate toward oncoming traffic was not available, but the crash continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol.

Through Sunday, 558 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2026, according to the state Department of Public Safety. A minimum of 914 people were killed in collisions in South Carolina in 2025, DPS data shows.

At least 13 people have died in Laurens County crashes this year, and 24 people died in wrecks there in 2025, according to DPS data.