Two Cope residents died in two separate vehicle accidents over the weekend.

Joe Ryant, 73, of 1368 Binnicker Bridge Road, was killed in a single vehicle collision late Saturday night. Ryant was a passenger in a 1989 Chevrolet Blazer driven by Cope resident Clarence Ryant, 55, according to Lance Cpl. Trevor Clinton of the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

Candice Rich, 63, of Snake Swamp Road, was then killed in a two-car collision at 9:50 a.m. Sunday morning, according to Lance Cpl. Josef Robinson of the S.C. Highway Patrol.

Clarence Ryant was transported to the Regional Medical Center in Orangeburg with non life-threatening injuries. The incident is still being investigated, but Clinton reported that the Chevy Blazer was traveling on S.C. Highway 70 when it left the roadway and entered a pond.

“Alcohol is possibly a factor in this crash. All other details are currently being investigated,” Clinton said.

The Edisto Fire Department along with the dive rescue teams from Pine Hill and Canaan fire departments and the Orangeburg County STAR Team responded to the scene.

“When we got there, there was one vehicle in Fogle Pond on Highway 70. There was one person in the vehicle. When we would holler at him, they would holler back. The other person was already gone by the time we got there,” Edisto Fire Department Chief Al Drawdy said.

Drawdy said Edisto Volunteer Firefighter Roy Jeffcoat had a rope tied around him before wading out to the vehicle. Jeffcoat then punched a hole through the driver’s side door window in an attempt to rescue the driver.

“He was unable to gain access. A paramedic then swam out to the vehicle and cut the windshield out of the front of the vehicle,” Drawdy said.

“When we usually have an entrapment, the STAR Team helps with extricating the patient from the vehicle. They have the rescue tools to do this,” said Drawdy, noting that the Chevy Blazer was nearly completely submerged, with only about six inches of the roof sticking out from under the water and the headlights shining from underneath the water.

“When we got there, we didn’t know what we had. We knew we had one patient in the vehicle hollering and wanted us to get him out. We had to wait until we got the right personnel on the scene. Whenever you save somebody’s life, it’s always a good feeling,” Drawdy said.

Bernie Till of the Pine Hill Fire Department’s dive rescue team said he and the Canaan dive team supported the Edisto Fire Department in making sure there weren’t any other victims in the car and helped them retrieve the vehicle from the water.

“The individuals had already been removed from the car when we got there. I was in the water about two different times for probably a total of maybe 30 minutes,” said Till, noting that while he didn’t suffer from hypothermia, he did take a long, hot bath once reaching home.

Of the dive teams, he said, “We do most of the water rescue for Orangeburg and neighboring counties with rescue and recovery. With divers and support personnel, Pine Hill sent at least eight people to the scene and Canaan probably sent an equal number.”

“There’s quite a bit of emotion associated with it,” Till said. “I’ve recovered a number of people in my tenure doing this, which is probably getting to be 15 to 20 years now. It’s always tragic to recover a drowning victim or a victim of a boating accident, but it does bring closure to the family. And, it’s rewarding as a volunteer to be able to make a difference in our community.”

Drawdy said he is grateful for the support of all the emergency personnel, including the fire departments within the region.

“We all work together as a team. Everybody works together to get it done,” Drawdy said.

Lance Cpl. Josef Robinson reported that the Sunday morning accident occurred five miles north of Cope at the intersection of S.C. Secondary Road 73, or Slab Landing Road, and S.C. Secondary Road 74, or Bonnett Road. Rich, who was not wearing a seat belt, was driving a four-door silver 1991 Buick Sentry west along Bonnett Road when she disregarded a stop sign and struck the right front side of a 1995 white Chevy pickup driven by Steven Phillips, 42, of 106 Pecan Lane, Cayce, S.C., Robinson reported.

Phillips, who was not wearing a seat belt, was driving north on Slab Landing Road at the time of the collision. The white Chevy pickup came to rest off of the roadway following the collision. Phillips was then transported to the RMC with non life-threatening injuries, according to Robinson.

Missy Scymanski of 106 Pecan Lane, Cayce, was a passenger in the pickup truck. She was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the vehicle before being transported to the RMC with non life-threatening injuries.

n T&D Staff Writer Dionne Gleaton can be reached by e-mail at dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5534. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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