Motorcycle rider killed in single-vehicle crash on Midlands road, coroner says
A Midlands man was killed after crashing a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, the Sumter County Coroner’s Office said Saturday.
Nicholas Rocheleau died after being taken to Prisma Health Tuomey hospital, Coroner Robbie Baker said. The 49-year-old Dazell resident’s cause of death has not been determined, but an autopsy is scheduled for Sunday at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, according to Baker.
The single-vehicle collision happened after 9 p.m. Friday at the intersection of S.C. 441/Peach Orchard Road and Oakland Drive, said Master Trooper Brian Lee of the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Rocheleau was going north on S.C. 441 when the 2020 motorcycle hit a raised concrete median that caused him to lose control of the motorcycle, according to Lee.
Rocheleau was wearing a helmet when the motorcycle crashed, Lee said. No other injuries were reported.
Through Friday afternoon, 87 motorcycle riders are among the 780 people that have been killed on South Carolina roads in 2020, according to the Department of Public Safety.
Rocheleau was at least the 17th person killed in an Sumter County crash in 2020, and the fourth motorcycle rider, according to DPS.
Another deadly accident
He was not the only person killed in a Sumter County crash this weekend.
Lavari Toney, 29, died after he was involved in a Friday night collision, Baker said.
Toney was a pedestrian walking on U.S. 378/Myrtle Beach Highway, near the intersection with Concord Church Road at about 8:30 p.m., when he was hit by a vehicle, according to Baker.
Toney was taken to Prisma Health Richland hospital where he died Saturday, Baker said.
No other injuries were reported by the coroner’s office.
Information on what caused the collision, or if criminal charges are possible, was not available.
An autopsy on Toney is scheduled for Monday at MUSC in Charleston, according to Baker.
Prior to Toney’s death, 127 pedestrians have died in collision on South Carolina roads in 2020, DPS reported. Toney is at least the fourth pedestrian killed in a Sumter County collision, DPS data shows.
Both deadly wrecks remain under investigation by Highway Patrol and the coroner’s office.
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This story was originally published October 18, 2020 at 11:45 AM.
