Trucker involved in I-26 motorcyclist death still not found, witness says biker wore helmet

A tractor trailer truck that ran a biker off the road on Interstate 26 in Calhoun County Monday afternoon did not strike the motorcycle, the Highway Patrol said Wednesday.

The truck driver shifted lanes, causing the motorcyclist to go off the road. Highway Patrol Cpl. Matt Southern said the truck driver has not been identified.

He also said the Highway Patrol is investigating whether the victim, Chase Mayberry, 36, of Mount Holly, North Carolina, was wearing a helmet. They reported he was not.

Calhoun County Coroner Donnie Porth confirmed Mayberry was wearing a helmet.

Johnathan Jowers, a passerby who stopped at the scene to render aid, told the Highway Patrol and The State Mayberry was wearing a helmet.

“I’ll swear under oath he had on a helmet,” Jowers told the State..

Jowers said he saw Mayberry face down on the ground near the guard wires. Jowers said he laid down on the ground talking to Mayberry. He tapped on Mayberry’s helmet and checked to see if he was breathing.

“Didn’t want to do anything else or move him in any way,” Jowers said. “I clearly remember his head moving slightly once he started breathing again.”

EMS arrived shortly after, he said.

“I remember seeing an individual holding his helmet as he was being loaded into the helicopter,” Jowers said.

He emailed The State on Tuesday night and said Mayberry was riding behind him for a while, stuck behind a wide-load escort. Mayberry passed him.

“Little while later I noticed traffic braking ahead,” he said. “I then came upon the scene.”

Mayberry died of multiple blunt force trauma, Porth said.

The accident happened at about 4:05 p.m. Monday near the exit to St. Matthews.

Mayberry was on a 2012 Suzuki in the left lane going westbound on I-26. The tractor trailer was in the right lane when the driver shifted left.

Mayberry was airlifted to Prisma Health Richland hospital in Columbia and was pronounced dead there.

“Chase lived life to the fullest,” his obituary said. “He loved his family, riding motorcycles, traveling, kayaking, and flying airplanes. He was always on an adventure and never met a stranger.”

Mayberry’s survivors include two children, Anthony and Julia; his parents, Charles Dean Mayberry and Patrica Thompson Mayberry; a sister, Taylor Mayberry; his girlfriend, April Ledford; and his dog, Tink, the obituary said.

This story was originally published November 3, 2021 at 2:18 PM.