Passenger Dies After DUI Crash in Abbeville, SC, Driver Charged

A single-vehicle wreck in Abbeville, SC on January 23 left one person dead, and another in jail on DUI charges.

Authorities say the crash happened around midnight. 21-year-old Kaityln Kellet was driving on Suber Rd. in Abbeville County when her vehicle, a 2007 Jeep Wrangler, crossed the center line. Kellet then overcorrected, sending the Jeep off the right side of the roadway. There it hit a ditch and a fence before overturning.

Sadly the Jeep’s passenger, Gabriel C. Smith, 21, was ejected from the vehicle and was later pronounced dead.

Kellet was wearing a seatbelt and uninjured. She was charged with felony DUI resulting in death and is currently in custody at the Abbeville County detention center.  

Unfortunately, South Carolina has one of the highest rates of DUI fatalities in the country. The Zebra, an online insurance brokerage, reports that about 30 percent of auto accident fatalities in the state were related to drunk driving. South Carolina ranks fifth in the nation for alcohol-related accident deaths.

If you know a surviving family member of a person who was injured or killed in an accident, please encourage them to contact our firm immediately. The consultation is completely free, with no out-of-pocket cost to the family to hire us.

For over 25 years the attorneys at Auger & Auger have been dedicated to protecting the rights of individuals and families that have suffered injuries or lost loved ones due to the negligence of others. We have years of experience guiding and helping our clients every step of the way to receive compensation for aspects such as medical bills, funeral costs, and other monetary losses. 

Editorial Note: At A&A we are always looking to improve the quality and safety and are saddened by the outcome of many tragic accidents across the Carolinas. The purpose of this news blog is to write about cases relevant to our industry and raise awareness about injury cases so that victims of similar incidents can educate themselves on theories of liability, the law, and how personal injury cases typically work. This article is created using publicly available information and is a secondary source. If you find any information here to be inaccurate, please notify us at [email protected], and we will make the appropriate adjustments.