Christopher L. O’Quinn of Due West died on Jan. 31 following an accident at a family-owned property near Honea Path during hazardous winter weather, according to a Feb. 1 media release from the Abbeville County Coroner’s Office. His death was ruled accidental.
Preliminary findings indicate O’Quinn was sledding, being pulled by a utility terrain vehicle when the crash occurred. Coroner C. Brad Evans said the sled struck another UTV on the property.
“His sled impacted another UTV,” Evans said.
Evans said O’Quinn died from blunt force trauma to the head. Another adult was also on the sled at the time of the crash and was transported to a hospital. That individual’s condition has not been released.
The Abbeville County Coroner’s Office, Abbeville County EMS, and the Sheriff’s Office responded promptly to the scene and launched an investigation soon after the crash. Emergency responders pronounced O’Quinn dead at the scene.
Officials reported that the incident occurred amid severe winter weather, resulting in hazardous conditions throughout the county. The coroner’s office stated that no further information is expected to be released while the investigation remains ongoing.
O’Quinn is remembered by family as a devoted husband, father, and community member. He was married to wife Jordan McCullough O’Quinn and was the father of three young children. The couple had been married for 10 years, according to his obituary.
“He loved me with every part of his soul,” Mrs. O’Quinn said in a previous interview with 7NEWS.
“He was an intentional father,” she said. “He took each of my children by the face every night and told them how much he loved them and how much he was proud of them.”
O’Quinn was a 2010 graduate of Piedmont Technical College and had worked at Michelin in Anderson since 2017. He was a member of Union Baptist Church and the Dew Drop Lodge in Antreville, according to his obituary.
South Carolina had unusually harsh winter weather over the weekend as a strong storm system brought snow, ice, and dangerously low temperatures across much of the state.
National Weather Service data recorded measurable snow falls in parts of the Lowcountry and Midlands between Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, a rare event marked by record-breaking cold and accumulation in areas that seldom see snow this time of year.