HARDEEVILLE, SC — A Savannah television news anchor was killed and four other people were hurt in a head-on crash in South Carolina early Sunday morning.
The wreck happened around 4 a.m. near Temptations nightclub on Highway 17 near the Talmadge Bridge in Jasper County, South Carolina, according to LCpl Matt Southern of the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Don Logana, an anchor for CBS affiliate WTOC in Savannah, died in the crash. Three people in the car with Logana were transferred to Memorial Hospital, according to Jasper County Coroner Martin Sauls.
The driver of the truck that collided head-on with the car was also taken to Memorial Hospital. The person driving the truck, Cleveland Coleman of Savannah, is in stable condition, officials told WSAV.
The driver of the car in which Logana was a passenger, Erich Richter of Register, Georgia, remains in serious condition, authorities say.
The front seat passenger, Carlina Richter of Register, Georgia, is in stable condition and the backseat passenger on the driver’s side, Joshua Bridges of Savannah, is listed in critical condition, according to officials.
Logana was in the back seat on the passenger side and was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.
By mid-afternoon Sunday there were dozens of messages on Logana’s Facebook page from viewers saying they would miss him.
Logana was originally from Syracuse, New York and was a graduate of SUNY Oswego. Logana had been working in the Savannah market for more than 10 years, his Facebook biography said.
Larry Silbermann, WTOC Vice President/General Manager stated, “Don was not only a valued member of our WTOC family, but a trusted friend to all.”
Scott Galloway, WTOC News Director also said, “Don was a great guy and such a big part of WTOC and our newsroom family, his loss has left us with a huge void that will be tough to fill.”
Most recently, Logana was voted Best Local TV News Anchor 2016 by Connect Savannah.
Talmadge Bridge was closed for hours but all lanes have been reopened on U.S. 17/Speedway Boulevard.
South Carolina Highway Patrol is still investigating the cause of the crash and its contributing factors.— WSAV-TV contributed to this report