Lake Murray, SC 09/16/2024 (Paul Kirby) – Troopers with the SC State Highway Patrol (SCHP) say that the man whose body was found floating in Lake Murray near the midpoint of the dam Friday had been in the water since very early Wednesday morning. Corporal Nick Pye of the SCHP says that the deceased man was the driver and only person in the Dodge Charger when it apparently careened off the guard railing of the dam, flipped over that, cleared the rocks, and landed in the water just east of the towers at approximately 1:00 a.m. on September 11, 2024.
According to Corporal Pye, the car sank into the lake, and no one noticed it until after the driver’s body was seen floating Friday morning. According to Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher, the car’s deceased driver was Darius Marche Dendy, 34, of Columbia.
Deputies with the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department Dive Team were recovering the driver’s body and then located the car. It was pulled out of the water by a heavy wrecker. The crash remains under investigation by the SCHP and Coroner Fisher’s office.
