This yellow cross with plastic flowers attached is an all-too-familiar scene across the rural South. It marks the spot where someone died, likely in a terrible car crash.
This cross is located along S.C. Highway 217 next to a bridge over a swamp of the Little Salkahatchie River just inside Bamberg County near the Colleton County line.
Across the South, highway death rates are comparatively high, but have gone down in recent years thanks to improvements in safety features on vehicles.
Bamberg County is home to about 16,000 people, 27 percent of whom live below the federal poverty level, according to 2012 Census estimates. The majority of residents are black (61.4 percent) with whites comprising 36.8 percent.
- QuickFacts about Bamberg County from the U.S. Census.
Photo taken January 2014 by Andy Brack. All rights reserved.