South Carolina teacher, baseball coach was on way to a game when he was killed in a crash, officials say

LUGOFF, S.C. — A South Carolina teacher is dead after an accident in Kershaw County on Saturday.

Authorities say the accident happened around 11:43 a.m. on Saturday on I-20 east near the 93 mile marker, where a the driver of a 2006 Ford F-150 was hit in the rear.

Troopers say a 2011 Buick sedan, a 2006 Ford pickup truck and a 2024 Freightliner tractor-trailer truck were heading east on the interstate when the first two vehicles stopped for traffic. 

The tractor-trailer reportedly hit the back of the pickup truck, forcing it to hit the sedan's rear. The crash sent the car and pickup truck off the right side of the road, and the pickup truck also flipped.

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The driver of the pickup truck, Jalen Benjamin of Rock Hill, was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Authorities say the 29-year-old was a school teacher and the baseball coach at Legion Collegiate Academy in Rock Hill. He was headed to a baseball game in Sumter at the time of the crash.

The crash remains under investigation by the South Carolina Highway Patrol and Kershaw County Coroner’s Office.