By Leah Justice

leah.justice@tryondailybulletin.com

A South Carolina truck driver lost his life along I-26 early Friday morning, Jan. 29 when his rig ran off the road, struck a guardrail and overturned, according to N.C. Highway Patrol reports.

Tony Joseph Hurst, 52, of Chapin, S.C. died at the scene around 2:15 a.m. Friday.

Hurst was driving a tractor-trailer eastbound on I-26 near Saluda.

Both eastbound lanes were shut down for approximately three hours early Friday with one lane reopened later and both lanes opened around 9 a.m.

State troopers said speed, alcohol or weather were not factors in the wreck, but they were still investigating as of Friday. Hurst was wearing a seatbelt, according to reports.

The lanes were shut down because a crane was needed to remove the tractor-trailer’s container. It was filled with small plastic pellets used to be melted down to make plastic products.