Columbia man killed after crashing ATV near home, Richland County coroner says
A Columbia man was killed in an ATV crash Friday night, the Richland County Coroner’s Office said.
The single-vehicle collision happened in James M. Tyson’s neighborhood, Coroner Gary Watts said Saturday in a news release.
It was around 6 p.m. when the 59-year-old wrecked near the intersection of Ridgecrest Court and Castle Ridge Drive, according to Master Trooper Brian Lee of the South Carolina Highway Patrol. That’s near the junction of HardScrabble Road and Summit Parkway, and a block from his home.
Tyson was going too fast for conditions and was not wearing a helmet when the ATV flipped over and landed on top of him, Lee said.
In addition to Highway Patrol officers, members of the Columbia Fire Department responded to the crash, where they found Tyson unresponsive on the ground, Watts said.
Tyson died at the scene, according to Lee.
His cause of death was determined to be from blunt force trauma and traumatic asphyxiation, Watts said after performing an autopsy.
Coroner Watts on Sunday advised people with ATVs not to drive them on pavement or roads.
“They are meant to be driven off-road. When driven on pavement, when you go to make a turn, the wheels have a tendency to bite into the concrete, and that’s what causes them to tip over,” Watts said. “And always wear a helmet.”
The crash is still being investigated by the coroner’s office and Highway Patrol.
Prior to this wreck, 11 people on ATVs and motorcycles have been killed on South Carolina roads so far in 2020 who had access to helmets but only three were wearing them, according to the Department of Public Safety.
This story was originally published April 5, 2020 at 10:06 AM.
