Man killed when truck overturns

A Gaffney man was killed in a single-vehicle accident Wednesday on North Green River Road, about 10 miles west of Gaffney.

Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler pronounced 38- year-old David Wayne Johnson of 3462 Chesnee Hwy. dead at the scene of the accident at 2:30 a.m. Johnson died of blunt force body trauma.

Johnson was traveling south on North Green River Road in a 1985 Toyota pickup when he lost control of the vehicle and drove off the right side of the road, said Cpl. Bryan McDougald of the S.C. Highway Patrol.

Johnson overcorrected and drove off the left side of the road before his vehicle struck an embankment and overturned, the officer said.

Johnson, who had to be extricated from the pickup, was not wearing a seat belt, the trooper said.

A passenger in the vehicle, 31- year-old Jeffrey Johnson of 140 Scruggs Trail, Gaffney, was injured but was not transported from the scene by medics. Jeffrey Johnson was wearing a seat belt, McDougald said.

Troopers estimate David Johnson was traveling 55 mph in a 25 mph zone, McDougald said. Alcohol is not believed to be a factor, the officer said.

Johnson's death marks the first traffic-related fatality in Cherokee County in 2007.