An Aiken man died Saturday night after hitting an ambulance on Richland Avenue West, a wreck that also caused minor injuries to the EMS crew inside.
Alonzo “Zo” Carter, 20, was driving a Dodge Charger around 10:20 p.m. Saturday when he collided with the ambulance on the passenger side, killing him. At the time, Carter was running from a S.C. Highway Patrol trooper who had activated his lights and turned around to conduct a traffic stop on him, according to sheriff’s Capt. Eric Abdullah.
“The trooper didn’t catch up until the collision,” the captain said.
The ambulance, belonging to Aiken County, was in the process of turning onto Augusta Road when the collision transpired. Fortunately, the EMS crew on board the ambulance sustained only minor injuries and was promptly transported to Aiken Regional Medical Centers for treatment.
The ambulance was not transporting any patients at the time of the accident, mitigating further casualties, authorities said.
Coroner Darryl Ables confirmed the tragic loss of Alonzo Carter in the collision. The deceased will undergo an autopsy in Newberry as part of the investigation process. The joint investigation, involving the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office, Aiken Department of Public Safety, and the Coroner’s Office, is currently ongoing.
Authorities are piecing together the events leading up to the collision to understand the circumstances surrounding the incident fully.
The fatality comes just weeks after another Aiken driver died after crossing the center line and colliding with an ambulance, injuring the EMS driver and two others inside.
Isaiah Johnson Jr., 33, was pronounced dead on the scene after the March 1 crash at the intersection of Hitchcock Parkway and Northwood Drive. Johnson was traveling east on Hitchcock Parkway in a 2010 Honda Civic when he crossed the centerline and collided with an Aiken County Emergency Medical Service ambulance that was traveling west on Hitchcock Parkway.
“Mr. Johnson was pronounced dead on the scene and will be autopsied in Newberry,” the coroner said in a press release. “The EMS unit was transporting a patient at the time of the accident, (and) that patient along with the driver of the ambulance and the EMS employee who was attending to the patient were transported to the hospital for their injuries.”
