Hardeeville teen killed in single-car collision with tree Saturday morning, coroner says

A Hardeeville teenager was killed after his car struck a tree early Saturday morning in eastern town limits, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

Cristian De Leon, 19, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, said Jasper County Coroner Willie P. Aiken III. He was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the collision.

The fatal crash happened around 12:32 a.m. Saturday on Coleman Loop, an unlit stretch of residential roadway that arcs off of S.C. 46 (Plantation Drive), according to Lance Cpl. Nick Pye of the SCHP. De Leon was driving east in a Dodge sedan when the car ran off the left side of the road, struck a tree and rolled back onto the highway.

Funeral arrangements for De Leon had not been made public as of Monday.

Saturday morning’s collision remains under investigation by the SCHP and the Jasper County Coroner’s Office.