The Voice Contestant Dylan Carter Killed in Tragic Car Accident

Dylan Carter, the South Carolina country singer who earned a four-chair turn on Season 24 of NBC’s The Voice in 2023, died Saturday, April 25, 2026, in a car accident in Colleton County, South Carolina. He was 24.

His death was confirmed by The Local Voice, the South Carolina nonprofit he co-founded to support women fighting breast cancer, and by Thomas Hamilton Jr., the mayor of Moncks Corner, where Carter had been scheduled to perform a concert on Monday, April 27. Details of the crash have not been released to the public.

Remember Dylan Carter, the singer behind a four-chair audition

Carter was 20 when he walked onto The Voice stage in 2023 and sang Whitney Houston’s “I Look to You.” All four coaches, Reba McEntire, Niall Horan, John Legend, and Gwen Stefani, turned their chairs. He chose McEntire, telling her she felt like a “comforting mom figure,” and explained that the song honored his mother, who had died the year before.

He had attempted to sing the same song at her funeral and could not finish. On the Voice stage, he did. He was eliminated weeks later in the Battle Rounds and returned home to South Carolina to perform across the Lowcountry.

The accident in Colleton County, South Carolina

The crash occurred Saturday night, April 25, 2026, in Colleton County, in the South Carolina Lowcountry. The South Carolina Highway Patrol and the Colleton County Coroner’s Office are the agencies that typically handle fatal traffic investigations in the area. Public details on contributing factors, other vehicles, and any pending charges had not been released as of this writing.

The Town of Moncks Corner canceled the Monday-night concert Carter had been scheduled to headline.

Revisit his audition tribute to his late mother

Carter’s blind audition is the moment most viewers will remember. McEntire, fighting tears, told him the performance showed why he was on Earth: to touch people’s hearts. Legend told him the coaches felt his mother’s presence in the room. Stefani praised the warmth and texture of his voice. Horan said four chairs only turn when a performance truly moves the room.

The performance was widely shared after it aired and helped introduce Carter to a national audience.

Honor his work with The Local Voice

Outside music, Carter co-founded The Local Voice, a South Carolina nonprofit serving women fighting breast cancer. The organization announced his death on Facebook and described him as central to the group’s mission. The statement said the team finds comfort believing he is reunited with his mother, and pledged to carry his work forward.

Carter also owned Sunny Days RV & Campground and worked as a realtor in the Lowcountry.

Read tributes from Moncks Corner and the Lowcountry community

Mayor Thomas Hamilton Jr. posted a public tribute on behalf of the Town of Moncks Corner. He described Carter as a gifted singer who frequently performed at town events and said his “kindness and charm earned him immense respect.” Hamilton added that Carter was a friend to the community, not only an entertainer.

Information on survivors had not yet been released.

Understand how California families navigate a fatal car accident loss

Fatal car accidents are the part of our work we wish did not exist. We mention it because readers searching for news of Carter often turn to broader questions about what happens after a roadway death, questions our team answers every day for grieving California families.

Under California Code of Civil Procedure § 377.60, a wrongful death claim may be brought by a deceased person’s surviving spouse, domestic partner, children, and certain other dependents and heirs. The general statute of limitations for wrongful death in California is two years from the date of death under California Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1. Recoverable losses can include funeral and burial costs, the financial support the deceased would have provided, and the loss of love, companionship, and guidance.

Our thoughts are with Dylan Carter’s family, friends, and the Lowcountry community. 

Sources: Deadline, Entertainment Weekly (via AOL), The Daily Beast, the Town of Moncks Corner, and The Local Voice.