Benjamin "Ben" Thomas Harpe III was the passenger in a 2003 Hummer that overturned several times on Patrick-Society Hill Road around 6:15 a.m. March 5. Harpe was reportedly not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident and was ejected from the vehicle.
Chesterfield County Coroner Donnie Baker pronounced Harpe dead at the scene.
The driver of the Hummer, 21-year-old Adam R. Lundy of Patrick, was also injured in the accident. Lundy was treated and later released from Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C.
According to reports from the S.C. Highway Patrol, Harpe and Lundy were traveling south on Patrick-Society Hill Road when Lundy ran off the right side of the road about six miles south of Patrick.
Lance Cpl. Bryan McDougald said Lundy overcorrected trying to get back on the road, sending the Hummer off the left side of the road where it overturned several times.
McDougald said it was unknown whether Lundy was buckled at the time of the accident.
According to McDougald, the accident remains under investigation, with alcohol and speed tests still pending.
A funeral service for Harpe was held Monday at Lower Macedonia Church, where Harpe was a member. The visitation was held Sunday and lasted more than five hours.
"Ben was a very personable guy who everyone liked," Harpe's uncle, Cheraw Police Chief J.A. Graves said. "Anyone who ever had any dealings with him liked him, and he always brought a smile to people's faces."
Harpe was a graduate of Cheraw High School and worked at his family's business, Harpe Automotive.
"Just to tell you what kind of guy he was, Ben had over 200 numbers programmed in his cell phone of friends," Graves said.
Surviving Harpe are his wife, Tara Turner Harpe; his parents, Tommy and Katherine Harpe; a brother, Justin James Harpe; his grandmother, Suce Harpe; and a niece, Karley Harpe, all of Cheraw.
Memorials may be made to the Karley Harpe College Fund at Sentry Bank and Trust in Cheraw.
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