Blacksburg man dies in head-on collision

A Blacksburg man died early Wednesday morning on October 24 when his truck was involved in a head on collision near the entrance to Oconee Nuclear Station.

Terry Eugene Blanton, 58, of 486 Moss Crossing, was pronounced dead at the accident scene by Oconee County Coroner Karl Addis. The accident occurred about 12:35 a.m. on S.C. Highway 130.

Blanton died from multiple blunt force trauma, Addis said. Blanton's death has been ruled an accident.

Blanton was driving north on S.C. Highway 130 when his 1988 Chevrolet pickup truck was hit head on by a 1997 Dodge full size pickup truck driven by Joel Edward Watson, 32, of Seneca, said Lance Cpl. Kathy Hiles of the S.C. Highway Patrol. Blanton was not wearing his seatbelt.

Watson was taken to Oconee Memorial Hospital where he was treated and transferred to Greenville Memorial Hospital, Hiles said. Watson, who was wearing a seatbelt, remains in serious condition at Greenville Memorial Hospital.

The South Carolina Highway Patrol is continuing to investigate the accident.

"It appears the vehicle driven by (Watson) crossed the double yellow line and struck Blanton's vehicle. Blanton's vehicle then went over a guardrail and overturned onto the driver side down an embankment," Addis said. "The road surface was wet from an earlier rain. It was reportedly not raining at the time of the collision and fog was not present in the area at the time of the collision."

Blanton worked for the Atlantic Group during outages at the Oconee Nuclear Station.

"It is unclear if he was en route to work at the time of the collision," Addis said. "He (Blanton) reportedly has a camper trailer parked at a RV camp on S.C .Highway 183 which is in proximity of the nuclear station and the collision site."

An autopsy will be performed to assist in documenting Blanton's injuries, Addis said. Specimens have been sent to the State Law Enforcement Division for a toxicology report to determine if alcohol and/or drugs were a factor in the accident.