Man With Ties To University Place Severely Injured, Loses Daughter In South Carolina Crash

A man with ties to University Place was injured and his daughter was killed following a car collision Monday night in South Carolina.

Television station WIS reports that Devin Schumate, 33, was driving with Gabriella, 4, near the city of South Congaree when their 2006 Kia Spectra was struck by a Nissan Altima driven by a 24-year-old woman.

The little girl was transported to Lexington Medical Center where she was pronounced dead an hour later, according to the television station. No charges have been filed in the crash, but authorities are investigating what caused it.

Former University Place Mayor and longtime resident Linda Bird told Patch that both Devin, who was severely injured, and his wife, Curtis graduate Dacia (Call), have parents and lots of family who have lived in the area some 40-plus years.

Bird said both Devin and Gabriella, or "Ella," were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash.

According to Devin Shumate's Facebook page, he graduated from nearby Lincoln High School in Tacoma and studied at the University of Washington.

The family also kept a blog about their life in South Carolina. Here is their last entry, which came less than a week ago at 11:15 p.m., on May 12:

SC is getting hot. On average, its in the 80's every day now. Last week Tanner got his hair cut. A few days later, Anson. Today.... Joseph. Longer, sweaty boy hair, just isn't that appealing to me, so it was time to lighten things up. I went a little shorter than intended on JP. Luckily his hair grows fast.

Three cheers for summer hair cuts!

Patch will have more information on this story as it becomes available.