By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter

jevans@thepccourier.com

CENTRAL — A Daniel High School student was killed in a single-car accident last week.

Pickens County Coroner Kandy Kelley said Dillon McCade Ridgeway, 17, of Love and Care Road in Six Mile, died after the accident in the early-morning hours of Nov. 23.

The accident occurred shortly after midnight on Wednesday morning, according to Lance Cpl. Tony Keller of the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

The accident occurred as a 2001 Volkswagen driven by a teenage male from Liberty was traveling north on S.C. Highway 133, Keller said.

The vehicle went off the road, struck a culvert and overturned, Keller said.

The driver was transported by ambulance to Greenville Memorial Hospital, he said.

Ridgeway was a passenger in the Volkswagen, Kelley said.

Kelley said Ridgeway, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was thrown from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene.

The School District of Pickens County released a statement following Ridgeway’s death.

“We are extremely saddened to learn of the death of Dillon Ridgeway, an 11th grade student at Daniel High School,” the statement said. “Dillon was enrolled in the Public Safety program at the Pickens County Career and Technology Center and had career goals of becoming a firefighter.

“He had a great sense of humor and was always able to put a smile on somebody’s face. He will definitely be missed by his classmates, teachers and staff. Our deepest sympathies are with the Ridgeway family and with everyone in our community who was close to Dillon.”

Grief counselors were available at Daniel High School Monday morning, and space was provided for students needing time to grieve.

The South Carolina Highway Patrol is investigating the accident.