1-year-old NC boy hit and killed while visiting SC state park with family, coroner says
A young child was hit and killed by a Jeep during a family trip to a state park in South Carolina, officials said.
The boy — a 1-year-old visiting from the mountain town of Asheville, North Carolina — was walking “toward the parking lot” with his relatives. That’s when the “child darted out ahead from between two vehicles and was struck,” according to the Oconee County Coroner’s Office of South Carolina.
The boy died at the scene. He was identified in a news release as 19-month-old Benny Esquivel.
The crash was reported just before 2 p.m. on June 17, the day before Father’s Day. The S.C. Highway Patrol said it happened on private property near Devils Fork State Park, in the Salem area and roughly 40 miles west of Greenville.
The park is a gateway to Lake Jocassee, a popular area for fishing and waterfall viewing, according to the S.C. State Parks website.
State troopers and the coroner’s office are investigating the child’s death, officials said.
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