Girl, 12, Ran Over Outside Church After Funeral

A South Carolina community is mourning a 12-year-old girl who was killed in a church parking lot just hours after attending a funeral there.

Kantori Chestnut, of Loris, was struck by a 2026 Nissan Rogue on the night of Sept. 16 at Cedar Branch Missionary Baptist Church in Horry County, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol and local officials.

Emergency crews were called to the area of Cedar Branch Road and Turkey Hollow Road at about 9:53 p.m. after reports that a vehicle had struck a building and multiple people. Three people were taken to the hospital, including one person in critical condition.

That critically injured victim was later identified as Kantori.

South Carolina Highway Patrol Master Trooper William Bennett said the Nissan was backing up on private property at around 9:59 p.m. when it struck Kantori and then hit the building at 744 Cedar Branch Road, the address of Cedar Branch Missionary Baptist Church.

Kantori was rushed to a hospital, but she died from her injuries.

Horry County Chief Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard later confirmed her identity and said the 12-year-old had attended a funeral at the church earlier that day.

Authorities have not publicly said whose funeral Kantori had attended or what her relationship was to the person being remembered.

The crash added another heartbreaking layer to what had already been a day of mourning for the church community.

The driver of the Nissan was also taken to the hospital, according to the Highway Patrol. Horry County Fire Rescue initially reported that three people in total were transported for treatment, though officials have released few details about the third injured person.

The driver has not been publicly identified, and authorities have not announced any charges.

South Carolina Highway Patrol is continuing to investigate what caused the vehicle to back into Kantori and the church.

One detail in early coverage also needed clarification: initial fire-rescue reports described the incident as a vehicle striking a building and multiple people, while the Highway Patrol’s later account specifically said the SUV first struck Kantori and then the building.

For now, the case remains under investigation as Kantori’s family and the Loris community grieve a child who had gone to church to say goodbye to someone else — only to lose her own life hours later.