SOUTH CAROLINA — Authorities are investigating after a man’s body was discovered inside a burning pickup truck late Saturday night in Oconee County.
According to the Oconee County Coroner’s Office, the incident was reported around 11:30 p.m. when a 911 caller alerted officials to a vehicle fire on Park Avenue near Salem Town Hall.
Firefighters responded to the scene and, after extinguishing the flames, reported finding a body in the driver’s seat of the truck.
The South Carolina Highway Patrol said the driver of a 2004 pickup truck had been traveling east on Park Avenue when the vehicle went off the roadway, struck a parked vehicle, and then hit an embankment.
The coroner’s office is working to positively identify the individual. Based on the vehicle identification number and items recovered from inside the truck that were not destroyed by the fire, officials believe the victim may be a 62-year-old man from Salem.
An autopsy has been scheduled as part of the investigation. Authorities say the case remains under active investigation by the coroner’s office and the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
