Clinton man dies of heart attack after crashing into building

A Clinton man who crashed his truck into a building on Torrington Road didn’t die from injuries he received in the wreck, but instead from a massive heart attack that caused him to crash.

Laurens County Deputy Coroner Vickie Cheek said Joe Nathan Taylor, 73, of Summit Street in Clinton, died from a heart attack at Laurens County hospital just before 10:30 Wednesday morning.

According to South Carolina Highway Patrol LCpl Tony Keller, Taylor was driving east on Torrington Road near the railroad tracks at B.F. Shaw around 9 a.m. Wednesday, when his 1991 Ford pickup went off the left side of the road, struck a ditch and then a building.

Coroner Nick Nichols said Taylor apparently got out of his truck after the wreck and complained about breathing problems to witnesses on the scene just before collapsing. Taylor was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where doctors tried to save his life, but he was pronounced dead at 10:21 a.m.

Nichols said the collision was minor and did not contribute to Taylor’s death.