West Columbia man sentenced in Felony DUI crash that killed 2 from 2023

West Columbia, SC 06/09/2025 – A man who was behind the wheel of a car in September of 2023 was sentenced after he pleaded guilty last Thursday to killing a teenager and her grandfather in a crash in West Columbia.

Joshua Yarborough, age 26, crashed his car into another that was occupied by 17-year-old Leeya Leaveratte and her grandfather, Cornelius Clory at the intersection of 12th Avenue and B Avenue right a Zestos while he was intoxicated. Law enforcement officers say he had a blood alcohol level of .084 when it was measured after the collision.

Yarborough pleaded guilty to 2 counts of felony DUI resulting in death. He was sentenced to 10 years behind bars for each charge.

17-year-old Leeya “Lee-Lee” Leaveratte and her grandfather, Cornelius Clory, died in the wreck. She was a senior in high school, and he was a grandfather who loved his family, to sing, and was an expert gardener.

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Yarboroughs sentences will run concurrently. He will have 692 days knocked off his sentence for the time he spent under house arrest. This means that he will serve just a little more than 8 years. This number could be reduced even further while he is in prison depending on his behavior and other factors.

Prosecutors argued that they had a receipt that showed Yarborough had at least 3 drinks just before the crash. His attorney argued that he took medication for an ongoing seizure disorder that could have contributed to the wreck. Others said that was all the more reason for Yarborough not to be drinking or driving a vehicle.

Representatives from the family of the 2 victims believe that 10 years is too short a sentence for taking 2 lives. A representative of the Eleventh Circuit Solicitor’s Office agreed but said their office and the sentencing judge was hamstrung by SC law that made 10 years the maximum available sentence in this case.