Vet killed in one-car crash in Anderson County

A veteran of the Afghanistan conflict was killed Saturday when he crashed his 2007 Hummer into a tree on Firetower Road in Anderson County, authorities said.

James Arthur Gravley, 42, was traveling at a high rate of speed when the vehicle hit the tree near his home at 120 Oak Court in Piedmont, said Coroner Greg Shore. Gravley is survived by a wife and three children, Shore said.

Gravley was traveling north on Firetower Road at 5:20 a.m. when he ran off the left side of the roadway and hit the tree, said Lance Cpl. Tony Keller of the state Highway Patrol.

Gravley was awarded the Purple Heart in Afghanistan, Shore said. He died of blunt-force trauma to the chest, the coroner said.