Two 20-year-old women were killed in a weekend hit-and-run in downtown Charleston near an entrance to the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, police said.
The Charleston County Coroner’s Office identified the victims on April 29 as 20-year-olds Lizzy Zito and Arianna Gamber. They were both from Simpsonville, near Greenville.
Zito was a College of Charleston student studying psychology, the school confirmed.
She died two weekends before she was expected to graduate. She would have completed her degree in just three years.
The scene where pedestrians Lizzy Zito and Arianna Gamber, both 20, died to a hit-and-run motorist on Sunday, April 28, a day before this video was made, near the footpath at the western end of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge.
“The College of Charleston offers condolences to Lizzy’s family, friends, classmates, faculty, staff and others who knew her. We ask that you please keep Lizzy’s family and friends in your thoughts during this most difficult of times,” said Ron Menchaca, the vice president of marketing and communications at the College of Charleston.
One of Gamber’s friends posted on Facebook that she “was the brightest light in every room.”
Though the women died near the downtown entrance to the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, there is no indication the two were jogging or exercising when a driver fatally crashed into them and fled the scene, police said.
They have not released information about what Zito and Gamber may have been doing just before they were hit.
Someone called police just after 8:30 a.m. on April 28, a bright Sunday morning, to report two unresponsive victims off the roadway on Morrison Drive between Harris and Cooper streets.
PEDESTRIANS KILLED IN AUTO COLLISION: Two were killed on Morrison Drive near the entrance to the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge when a driver fatally crashed into them and fled the scene, police say. (Source: Esri)
A crosswalk is at the intersection of Cooper Street and Morrison Drive, a bustling four-lane road where cars often whiz past. It’s popular for walkers, runners and cyclists to cross there to trek over the Cooper River bridge. But it’s a lengthy light that can take minutes for the walk signal to flip from a red “don’t walk” hand to the white crossing sign.
The street was closed for several hours April 28 as the Charleston Police Department’s major accident team investigated what they determined to be a hit-and-run collision based on vehicle debris in the roadway.
Police have released few details about the investigation. No one has been arrested in connection with the deaths, jail records showed April 29, and the police department confirmed in a statement.
What police did say is that having more than one victim in this type of accident is “extremely rare,” spokesperson Sgt. Christopher Stinson told The Post and Courier.
The collision marks the first double fatal pedestrian-auto accident of 2024, he said. The Post and Courier has requested reports of other collisions with more than one victim.
South Carolina is the third-most dangerous state for pedestrians, according to a new study based on information from data.gov. In the Palmetto State, there are 29.70 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the report.
Charleston has been ranked as the fifth-most dangerous city for pedestrians in the country.
For an article published last fall which was unrelated to the April 28 pedestrian fatalities, Charleston County Patrol Division’s Sgt. Charles Sebban told The Post and Courier he wants all pedestrians to be careful crossing roads, to use crosswalks and to double-check that no cars are coming toward you.
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Drivers should be especially careful at night, when nearly 80 percent of all pedestrian deaths occur, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
If an accident happens, drivers should never leave the scene, Sebban said.
Drivers can be charged with hit-and-run if they leave the scene of the accident, even if the accident was not their fault.
Still, some drivers do flee. Sebban estimates that people make up their minds about what to do in a matter of seconds.
Alcohol use was involved in nearly half of all pedestrian-auto deaths in South Carolina in 2021, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Anyone with information that may be pertinent to the investigation is asked to contact the Charleston Police Department Traffic Unit at 843-965-4084 or contact Crime Stoppers of the Lowcountry at 843-554-1111
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to further clarify that a sheriff’s officer spoke to The Post and Courier prior to the April 28 fatalities and to reflect that he was speaking generally about pedestrian safety issues.
