By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter

jevans@thepccourier.com

SIX MILE — A tragic accident claimed the lives of a young Six Mile woman and her newborn daughter last week.

According to a release from the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were notified at 9:45 p.m. on Friday, July 22, that a pedestrian had been struck by a bicycle on Mount Olivet Road in Six Mile.

Both the sheriff’s office and the South Carolina Highway Patrol responded to the scene.

A 24-year-old woman and her boyfriend, 27, were walking on Mount Olivet Road when the woman was struck by a bicyclist, the release said.

The woman, Rose Marie Higgins, was flown to Greenville Memorial Hospital.

The bicyclist was treated at the scene for injuries, the release said. Higgins’ boyfriend was not injured.

Higgins was 28 weeks pregnant at the time of the accident.

Sources close to the family reported that Higgins’ child was delivered by emergency cesarean section at 2:12 a.m. July 23.

The infant, Charissa Faith, died on Monday, July 25.

Higgins passed away on July 26.

A prayer vigil was held for the family Thursday.

A fundraising campaign has been set up to help with funeral expenses for both Higgins and her infant daughter, as well as to help Higgins’ two little boys. For more information, visit https://www.gofundme.com/rjkmhk.

The investigation determined that the collision was accidental.

“The sheriff’s office, along with the South Carolina Highway Patrol, determined at the scene that the incident was not indicative of any foul play and there was no evidence that the collision was intentionally motivated,” the release stated.

Condolences for the family may be left on the Dillard Funeral Home and Hillcrest Memorial Park website.