Driver identified from Friday’s fatal SUV crash on South Carolina road, police say

A driver died Friday after veering off a South Carolina road and hitting a tree, causing the SUV to become “engulfed in flames,” a State Highway Patrol trooper said.

The driver, who died at the scene, was identified as Julius Tallent, 82, of Hickory Grove, according to a Saturday statement from York County Coroner Sabrina Gast.

Tallent was driving a 2007 Ford Escape when he veered off Smithford Road in York County five miles west of Hickory Grove, Trooper Brandon Bolt said Friday. Tallent was traveling eastbound and went off the right side of the road at about 5:20 p.m., Bolt said.

Charlotte Observer reporter Catherine Muccigrosso contributed to this report.