COUNTY — An accident on U.S. 123 near Cartee Road claimed the life of a Central girl on Saturday.
Pickens County Coroner Kandy Kelley said that 14-year-old Tabatha Renee Kelley, of 946 Norris Hwy. in Central, was killed in the accident, which occurred around 2:50 p.m.
Tabatha Kelley, a ninth-grade Liberty High School student, was a passenger in the vehicle. The coroner said the vehicle, a 1997 Chevy SUV, went down an embankment and hit a tree.
According to the South Carolina Highway Patrol, the vehicle was traveling north on U.S. 123 when the driver of the vehicle lost control, overcorrected and travelled down the embankment.
The Pickens County Coroner’s office said Kelley was restrained in a seat belt during the accident, and the cause of death was blunt-force trauma.
Three others were in the vehicle during the accident. The driver and two passengers were transported to Greenville Memorial for treatment. All were wearing seat belts.
Following the tragedy, friends of the victim flooded a Facebook memorial page to post condolences in memory of Kelley. As of Tuesday, nearly 900 people had joined the page and hundreds of posts had been made in Kelley’s honor.
The highway patrol continues to investigate the accident.