Coroner identifies victim after car catches fire trapping, killing driver

GAFFNEY, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - The Cherokee County Coroner’s Office said one person is dead following a crash on I-85 in Gaffney Thursday morning.

According to officials, the victim was in a car heading south on I-85 south at 3:20 a.m. at a high rate of speed. The driver hit a the rear of a truck near the 95 mile marker before coming to a rest against a concrete temporary barrier wall.

The coroner’s office said the car caught fire trapping the victim inside.

The coroner identified the victim as 40-year-old Melissa Wilkinson Dehaven of King, North Carolina.

Troopers with the South Carolina Highway Patrol said the driver of the truck was injured and taken to the hospital. We do not know their status at this time.

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