Two N.A. men die in Sunday night wreck

Photo courtesy of EdgefieldDaily.com Ryan Craven, 26, and Ryan Tyler McNeal, 23, died in a wreck late Sunday night.

Gregory Lake Road was the scene of two traffic fatalities late Sunday night as two young North Augusta men lost their lives when their vehicle left the roadway and traveled through a stand of trees, coming to rest several hundred feet from the first point of impact.

Ryan Craven, 26, of Gregory Lake Road, and Ryan Tyler McNeal, 23, of Whitebark Avenue, were traveling east on Gregory Lake Road around 11:40 p.m. when their 2002 Lexus crossed the roadway onto the left shoulder, hit a tree and overturned as it moved through the woods.

Both men were ejected from the vehicle, according to S.C. Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Scot Edgeworth.

Edgeworth and Edgefield County Coroner Thurmond Burnett confirmed that both Craven and McNeal were pronounced dead at the scene.

Neither Craven nor McNeal were wearing a seat belt, according to authorities.

It was not immediately apparent who was driving the vehicle, and toxicology is pending, according to police.

On Monday afternoon, several of their acquaintances around the CSRA shared memories of the two longtime friends.

"They were just two guys that would do anything for you. They'd give you the shirt off their back. They were just fun-loving guys," said Richard Bush, a Richmond Academy teacher whose background also includes teaching at North Augusta Middle School.

Joe Underwood, a teacher at Paul Knox Middle School, recalled Craven as an eighth-grader at North Augusta Middle School (where Underwood taught at the time), describing him as "a happy go-lucky young man at that period in his life."

McNeal, whose nickname was "Biggie," was a longtime friend of Paul Knox Middle School teacher Mary Lown and her family. "He treated me like a queen. He was just a wonderful boy, and, of course, I always thought of him as a boy," she said.

"He was very close to his family and ... he was good to his mama. He was just a sweet guy."

"They were both very outgoing young men," said Rebekah Harley, a hairdresser in Augusta. "They enjoyed Carolina tailgating more than anything ... Me and Biggie ... go back a long way. He really enjoyed being out on the water, spending the weekends on the lake and on the river with us.

"They were both wonderful guys, and there was never a dull moment when Ryan McNeal came into the room."

Visitation for Ryan McNeal will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Rowland Funeral Home. The funeral is set for 11 a.m. Thursday at Belvedere First Baptist Church with burial at Pineview Memorial Park.

For Ryan Craven, visitation will be on Wednesday from 7 to 9 p.m. at Posey Funeral Home, with the funeral service to be held Thursday at 2 p.m. at Victory Baptist Church followed by interment at Pineview Memorial Park.

This is the second double vehicular fatality in the area in a week. On Dec. 29, Alex Bush, 24, and Katie Scott, 22, both of Aiken were killed in a head-on collision that occurred on Highway 302.

Contact News Editor Phyllis Britt at editor@northaugustastar.com.

Contact Staff Writer Bill Bengtson at bbengtson@northaugustastar.com.