Fatal accident claims life of Graniteville woman, second fatality in 2 days

Ramsey Byers (via Facebook)

Date: February 29, 2024

A single-vehicle accident has resulted in the loss of a young woman’s life in Graniteville.

The Aiken County Coroner’s Office is currently investigating the incident, which occurred late Tuesday night along the 300 block of Howlandville Road near Monroe Street.



According to preliminary reports from authorities, the accident took place at 11:54 p.m. when a 2008 Ford SUV, driven by 21-year-old Ramsey Byers, was traveling northbound on Howlandville Road. For reasons yet to be determined, the vehicle veered off the left side of the road, colliding first with a culvert and then a tree.

Byers, a resident of Graniteville, sustained fatal injuries in the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene. The precise circumstances leading to the accident remain under investigation by both the Coroner’s Office and the Highway Patrol.

The Coroner’s Office has indicated that toxicology analysis is pending as part of the ongoing investigation.

Oscar King

This tragic incident follows closely on the heels of another fatal accident just a day prior. On Monday night at approximately 8:40 p.m., a motor vehicle accident claimed the life of a Graniteville man.

Oscar L. King, 38, was traveling south on Ascauga Lake Road on an electric motor scooter when he was struck by a southbound 1999 Dodge pickup truck at the intersection of Ascauga Lake Road and Old Powerhouse Road. Despite immediate medical attention and transportation to WellStar MCG, King succumbed to his injuries at 9:21 p.m. Monday, Coroner Darryl Ables said.

The Coroner’s Office, in conjunction with the Highway Patrol, is actively investigating this incident as well, with toxicology analysis pending.

Note: If you have a better photo of Oscar King, please text it to 803-487-3224.

What to Read Next

The Author

Greg Rickabaugh is an award-winning crime reporter in the Augusta-Aiken area with experience writing for The Augusta Chronicle and serving as publisher of The Jail Report. He also owns AugustaCrime.com. Rickabaugh is a 1994 graduate of the University of South Carolina and has appeared on several crime documentaries on the Investigation Discovery channel. He is married with two daughters.

Comment Policy

The Augusta Press encourages and welcomes reader comments; however, we request this be done in a respectful manner, and we retain the discretion to determine which comments violate our comment policy. We also reserve the right to hide, remove and/or not allow your comments to be posted.

The types of comments not allowed on our site include:

  • Threats of harm or violence
  • Profanity, obscenity, or vulgarity, including images of or links to such material
  • Racist comments
  • Victim shaming and/or blaming
  • Name calling and/or personal attacks;
  • Comments whose main purpose are to sell a product or promote commercial websites or services;
  • Comments that infringe on copyrights;
  • Spam comments, such as the same comment posted repeatedly on a profile.