Crime & Safety

Columbia Man Dies in Crash on Veterans Road

The passenger died after the vehicle crashed into a tree in the 1000 block of Veterans Road Sunday morning.

A 20-year-old Columbia man died Sunday morning when the vehicle he was riding in ran off Veterans Road and hit a tree, according to the Richland County Coroner's Office. 

Hakeem Olajuwon Dash was in the front passenger's seat of the vehicle when the wreck happened around 5 a.m., Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said. The driver was traveling at a high speed when the vehicle ran off the road, hit several mailboxes and then a tree on the passenger's side.

Dash died at the scene, Watts said. An autopsy shows that he died from trauma associated with the crash. He was wearing a seatbelt.

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The driver was the only other person in the vehicle, and he was transported by EMS to Palmetto Richland Memorial Hospital and remains in critical condition.

The Columbia Police Department is investigating the crash.

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