Katie Arrington, a South Carolina state lawmaker who this month defeated Representative Mark Sanford in a House Republican primary, was seriously injured in a car crash on Friday night, according to her spokesman.
Ms. Arrington and a friend were traveling to Hilton Head, where Ms. Arrington was scheduled to receive an award from a state medical organization on Saturday morning, the spokesman, Michael Mule, said on the lawmaker’s social media accounts.
“Katie sustained a fracture in her back and several broken ribs, as well as injuries that required Katie to undergo major surgery including the removal of a portion of her small intestine and a portion of her colon,” a Facebook post said. “Additionally, the main artery in her legs has a partial collapse and will require a stent.”
Ms. Arrington was “awake and alert,” Mr. Mule said by phone on Saturday. She was expected to have two more operations over the next couple of days, he said, adding, “She’s as tough as they come.”
Mike Biundo, one of Ms. Arrington’s consultants, said on Saturday morning that “it was a rough night.”
He said he did not know how long her recovery might take. “As you can imagine, this is still an ongoing and fluid situation,” he said.
The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office said that a two-car collision happened around 9 p.m. on Highway 17 near Charleston.
Ms. Arrington and her friend, Jacqueline Goff, 59, were traveling south when another driver traveling in the wrong direction hit their vehicle, Capt. Roger Antonio, a spokesman for the office, said in a statement. The driver of the other vehicle died, he said.
Ms. Arrington, 47, won a surprise upset against Mr. Sanford in his Charleston-area district after she ran a relentless campaign that took aim at his criticism of…
