Driver killed after getting out of truck following crash on highway, SC coroner says

One man was killed Tuesday during a series of three consecutive crashes in the same spot on Interstate 20, the Aiken County Coroner’s Office said.

Clifton L. O’Bryan died after he got out of his GMC pickup truck and was hit by a Chevrolet pickup truck, Coroner Darryl Ables said in a news release. The 43-year-old Augusta, Georgia, resident died at the scene, according to Ables.

An autopsy will be scheduled in Newberry.

The collisions happened at about 7 a.m. on the ramp for Exit 1 on Interstate 20, Ables said. That’s the junction with S.C. 230 in North Augusta, near the South Carolina-Georgia state line.

The incident began when a Dodge pickup hit a concrete barricade on the exit ramp, according to Ables. As the Dodge came to a stop, the 1995 GMC driven by O’Bryan hit it in the rear, Ables said.

O’Bryan then got out of the GMC and a Chevy pickup entered the exit ramp and hit the Augusta man, according to Ables.

No other injuries were reported in the crash that continues to be investigated by the North Augusta Department of Public Safety.

Through Monday, 330 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2022 — and 52 were pedestrians — according to the state Department of Public Safety. In 2021, 193 pedestrians were among the 1,192 people who died on South Carolina roads, DPS said.

At least six people have died in Aiken County crashes in 2022, and this is the second involving a pedestrian, DPS reported. Last year, 36 deaths were reported there, and five involved a pedestrian, according to DPS data.

This story was originally published May 11, 2022 at 10:19 AM.

Noah Feit

The State

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Noah Feit is a Real Time reporter with The State focused on breaking news, public safety and trending news. The award-winning journalist has worked for multiple newspapers since starting his career in 1999. Support my work with a digital subscription