Church Funeral Ends With a 12-Year-Old Killed in the Parking Lot

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What Happened

A 12-year-old girl died after a reversing SUV struck her on the property of Cedar Branch Missionary Baptist Church in Loris, South Carolina, on the night of Wednesday, September 16, 2026. Kantori Chestnut had attended a funeral at the church, 744 Cedar Branch Road, earlier that day. Just before 10 p.m., the driver of a 2026 Nissan Rogue was backing up on church property when the vehicle struck Kantori and then struck a building. Horry County Fire Rescue (HCFR) was dispatched at 9:53 p.m. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) took Kantori and the driver, who was alone in the vehicle, to the hospital, where Kantori died from her injuries.

The South Carolina Highway Patrol (SCHP) is investigating. At the time of writing, SCHP has not released a cause, identified the driver, or announced charges. HCFR reported that three people were transported to the hospital, while SCHP has accounted for two. Reports also differ on why Kantori was still at the church at 10 p.m. The coroner’s office said the funeral took place hours earlier, while local law enforcement described her as leaving a church service.

Kantori lived in Loris and attended Loris Middle School, where she was a cheerleader. She had played recreational softball in town since 2019. Woody Hinson, the Loris interim recreation director, told The Sun News she was one of the fastest kids he had ever seen and described her as outgoing and always laughing.

Satellite imagery of the property shows a small L-shaped church set back from Cedar Branch Road on open grass. A dirt loop drive runs off the road and across the front of the building. There is a small concrete apron at the entrance, no paved lot, no marked parking spaces, and no visible parking lot lighting, and tree lines surround the property. At night, people leaving this church walk out the front door directly into the area where vehicles drive and park, with nothing marking where one ends and the other begins.

No one in this incident set out to hurt anyone. The danger was an ordinary vehicle moving through a dark area where people were on foot.

Pedestrians and Vehicles on Unmarked Ground

I have been telling church security teams for years that pedestrian protection is part of their job, and for most churches it is still an afterthought. Teams staff the doors, the sanctuary, and the children’s wing. When the service ends, those posts