Investigators looking at drugs, alcohol in wrong-way wreck

Investigators are exploring whether alcohol or drugs played a role in a six-car wreck Wednesday night that killed four people and involved a wrong-way driver.

The accident on Interstate 85 was reported about 11 p.m. near mile marker 67 in Spartanburg County, the South Carolina Highway Patrol said. The four who died all were Spartanburg County residents.

Martha Marie Diaz, 21, of Tinsley Heights Drive; Josh Leroy Smith, 60, of Carver Mill Road; and Shiree Lynette Whitaker, 22, of Pierpont Avenue Extension, were pronounced dead at the scene. Edwin Ferguson, 27, of Fernwood Glendale Road, died at the hospital.

Cpl. Bill Rhyne of the Highway Patrol said the wrong-way driver was among those who died, but neither he nor the Coroner's Office identified the driver.

The causes of death are pending examination and toxicology reports, the Coroner's Office said. There are signs that drugs or alcohol might have been a factor in the wreck, said Randy Bogan, a chief investigator with the Coroner's Office. He declined to elaborate.

A trooper noticed a driver going the wrong way at a high rate of speed in the northbound lanes of Interstate 85 about 11 p.m. Wednesday, Rhyne said. The trooper, who avoided being struck, then notified dispatch about the wrong-way driver and asked for assistance if anyone was in the area, Rhyne said.

As the driver continued south in the northbound lanes, a state transport police officer in the southbound lanes attempted to get the driver's attention while driving parallel with his lights and siren on.

"However, before he was able to get him stopped, due to this driver traveling south in the northbound lanes, there was a multi-car collision involving six vehicles," Rhyne said.

Multiple individuals were taken to Spartanburg Regional for their injuries, the Highway Patrol said.

Lanes near the wreck were closed for several hours but reopened early Thursday morning.

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