Driver killed, passenger hurt in Conway crash

CONWAY – One person is dead and a second was flown to New Hanover Regional Medical Center after an early Saturday morning one-car traffic collision.

Lance Cpl. Sonny Collins said the two were in a Ford F-150 driving south on Knotty Branch Road, about five mines north of Conway, shortly after 4 a.m., when the truck ran off the right side of the road and slammed into a tree.

The driver was killed in the crash.

Horry County Coroner Rogert Edge identified the victim as Benjamin Dale Cunningham, 18, of Conway, who died at the scene.

A passenger in the truck was taken to Conway Medical Center’s emergency room and then later flown to Wilmington, NC.

Collins said no details were available on seat belt usage and the wreck remained under investigation.