Staff Writer

A elderly Union man died on his birthday Monday after being involved in a traffic accident where his car struck a tree at Veterans Park.

Union County Coroner William Holcombe said an autopsy will be conducted on the body of Fletcher Boulware today at Newberry County Memorial Hospital to determine if Boulware died from injuries he received in the 12:52 p.m. wreck or if he suffered a medical problem before the accident.

Holcombe said Boulware, of 308 Robin Hood Circle, had turned 74 years old on Monday. He said Boulware had been to Palmetto Drugs on Lakeside Drive and apparently was on his way to his son's house when the wreck occurred.

Capt. Greg Pickens with the Union Public Safety Department said Boulware was traveling north in a 2003 Cadillac when his car crossed over the Arthur Boulevard intersection, ran off the right side of the road, traveled into Veterans Park across a walking trail and struck a large pine tree.

“Normally on a beautiful sunny day like today (Monday) the park would have been covered up with folks on the walking trails,” Pickens said. “It was fortunate that no one else was injured.”