The road was quiet in Easley when Matthew Dale Barton’s Ford SUV left the pavement. He was 21, from Greenville, and the clock said 1:47 a.m. on Monday, October 12.
Troopers say it was a single-vehicle crash near Pelzer Highway and Tinsley Drive in Pickens County. No other cars. No one else to blame.
Responders rushed him to Prisma Health Baptist Easley Hospital. Doctors could not save him. He died from the injuries.
He was not buckled in. That fact came from the officials on scene. A seat belt might have given him a better shot.
At 21, most days still feel wide open. School or a job. Weekend plans. All of it ended on that short drive through Easley.
The Pickens County Coroner’s Office and South Carolina Highway Patrol are still working the case. They want to know exactly how the SUV left the road.
Matthew Dale Barton is gone. His people in Greenville are left with the sudden hole. That is the story that remains.
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