Chester Co. coroner paints crosses on deadly crash sites as numbers rise

CHESTER COUNTY, S.C. — The Chester County coroner hopes residents will take a moment to think about their driving this holiday season when they pass white crosses on the road.

Coroner Terry Tinker, first responders and troopers are painting the symbols to mark the site of fatal wrecks, Channel 9's partner, The Herald, reported.

Crews painted three white crosses last week along the edge of SC 72 near Enix Road to remember Anthony “Tony” Roof, Willie Perry and Sir Lawrence Darby, who died in a wreck on Oct. 23.

The initiative started because 17 people have died on the roads this year compared to 16 in all of 2015.

Officials hope the symbols will serve as a warning for drivers in the six weeks left in 2016, which include some of the busiest travel days.

Tinker said he also hopes the crosses will give the victims' families a chance to heal.

“We want the families to know that those three crosses represent their family and that they’re not forgotten,” Tinker told The Herald. “But we don’t want to have to paint another cross.”

Tinker said the county’s deadly crashes continue to be caused by four things: impaired driving, speed, distracted driving or a lack of a seat belt.

Officials in Aiken County, South Carolina, have been painting crosses at deadly wreck sites for more than 20 years.

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