2 SC teens killed after a truck hits their dirt bike, officials say

A teenager and a 12-year-old were killed when the dirt bike they were riding on collided with a truck in Greenville County.

Greenville County Senior Deputy Coroner Shelton England identified them as Ezekiel Max Bradley Rivera, 12, of Piedmont and Carlos Perez, 16, of Greenville. Perez would have celebrated his 17th birthday on Thursday.

Bradley Rivera’s mother Shannon Rivera said in a gofundme page she started to raise money for her son’s funeral, that Perez was her daughter’s boyfriend. Ezekial was the youngest of her four children, she said..

They were driving home when they were hit by a truck at about 9:30 p.m. Friday.

“This is a nightmare I hope no one has to go through,” she said.

The South Carolina Highway Patrol said the 2005 Honda dirt bike and the 1994 Toyota pickup were traveling in opposite directions last Friday when the driver of the truck, who was not identified, attempted to turn left from Old Grove Road onto Willimon Road.

The bike hit the truck and the two young men fell into the roadway and were run over by the truck, Master Trooper Mitchell Ridgeway said.

England said Perez died at the scene. Bradley Rivera died in the Emergency Department at Prisma Health Greenville Memorial.

The cause of death for both was blunt force trauma. It was ruled an accident, England said.

A candlelight vigil for Bradley Rivera and Perez was held Sunday night at the scene of the collision.

Shannon Rivera had raised just under $12,000 toward a goal of $16,000 by Monday morning.