Data were obtained on the cause and manner of death and the victim's age, gender, and race. Toxicology results, victim characteristics, perpetrator characteristics, and the death scenario and location were analyzed when available. For all adolescents, the most common manner of death was accident, followed by homicide, suicide, natural, and undetermined. For comparison purposes, the adolescent victims were divided into the age groups of 10-14 years old and 15-19 years old. Although both groups were similar in experiencing a high number of accidental deaths, those in the older age group experienced a higher percentage of violent deaths, and those in the younger group were more likely to die of natural causes. Many of the accidental deaths were determined to be preventable, including deaths due to motor vehicle collisions and drowning. In cases of homicide deaths, the perpetrators were often known to the victim as an acquaintance or family member. Toxicology testing was often positive for decedents in the older age group, but rarely positive for those in the younger group. Although the race of the population of the county served by the Medical University of South Carolina Forensic Pathology section was approximately 62 percent White and 35 percent Black over the period of this study, the adolescent decedents were 56 percent Black and 42 percent White. When fatalities due to homicide were not counted, Blacks composed only 44 percent of the remaining deaths, a percentage much closer to that of the general population. Male decedents outnumbered female decedents by three to one, a much greater ratio than that of the county and the State as a whole. 3 tables, 6 figures, and 14 references