WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — 68-year-old Cornelius Clory and 17-year-old Leeya Leaverette were killed in a crash that happened at a West Columbia intersection around 7:30 Friday night.
The victims were in one vehicle and were struck by another car that West Columbia police say was driven by 24-year-old Joshua Yarborough.
“Kinda like… scary,” said Lucia King. “Really scary.”
King is the owner of Jade Moon, a business on that corner. She says she saw the victim's car stopped at the light on her security cameras. The pole in front of her store was struck and is on the ground in her parking lot.
“Like seconds later, the truck came flying,” King said. “And hit them on the side and the back. The left side on the back.”
An incident report from the West Columbia Police Department gives new details on what happened.
According to the report, Yarborough had been in another wreck at 12th Street and C Avenue shortly before the deadly collision at the corner of B Avenue and 12th Street.
Police say as he was driving away from that scene, he hit the car that had Clory and Leaverett inside.
The report says when they questioned Yarborough, he had slurred speech and originally refused a field sobriety test.
He’s now in jail on two felony DUI charges and is also charged with one count of leaving the scene of an accident.
West Columbia police say they cannot provide us with more information or do an interview, as this is an ongoing investigation.
King says her staff is cautious of the intersection, but doesn't feel like the intersection was the problem, saying the two victims did nothing wrong.
“We always cross when it's a red light,” King said. “We always be aware, we always say never rush to cross.”