Eddie Litaker, Sumter Item sports stringer and longtime journalist, dies Sunday after sideline injury
Blood clot found in leg broken after being hit by tackle going out of bounds
A person whose name was long found atop articles in the sports section of The Sumter Item died Sunday after initially being taken to the hospital from the sidelines of a Friday Night Lights game in Lake City.
Eddie Litaker was hit Friday as he was reporting from the sidelines of the Lakewood-Lake City game and initially taken to the hospital from the field with a broken leg. Ahead of his scheduled surgery Sunday after being transferred to McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence, a blood clot moved from his leg to his chest, and medical staff was unable to revive him.
He was 56.
Litaker was a staff sports reporter for The Sumter Item before becoming a longtime freelance writer, traveling the region to cover games for The Item’s three-county coverage area. He was a former editor for the Manning Times.
When he was not on the sidelines or in the press box, he could be found helping customers at Walmart Neighborhood Market on Bultman Drive in Sumter. He also previously worked at Piggly Wiggly.
Litaker was a Gamecock fan and received his bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from the University of South Carolina Aiken and studied at USC Sumter. He graduated from Sumter High School’s Class of 1984.
The family will hold a visitation from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct 13, at Elmore Cannon Stephens Funeral Home on Miller Road, and the funeral will be 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 14, at First Baptist Church on East Liberty Street.
A memorial article will be published soon. To share your condolences or memories of Eddie for that article, please email Kayla Green at kayla@theitem.com.
The Sumter Item has set up a GoFundMe for Litaker's family to help with funeral and other expenses. All donations will go to the family. To find the fundraiser, go here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/funeral-and-other-expenses-for-eddie-litaker?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1. Locals can also bring a check to The Sumter Item's office at 36 W. Liberty St. in downtown Sumter that we will collect for the family. Make checks out to John Litaker.