Motorcycle rider ejected and killed in overnight crash, SC Highway Patrol says
A South Carolina man was killed overnight in a motorcycle crash, the Greenwood County Coroner’s Office said Sunday.
Willie James Byrd died from blunt force trauma suffered in the accident, Coroner Sonny Cox said. The 51-year-old Greenwood resident died at the scene, according to Cox.
The single-vehicle collision happened at about 10:20 p.m. Saturday, said Master Trooper Brandon Bolt of the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Byrd was driving a 2013 Harley-Davidson motorcycle south on Deadfall Road, according to Bolt. That’s in the area between Greenwood High School and Greenwood County Airport.
When he was in the 700 block, near the intersection with Greenside Drive, Byrd lost control of the motorcycle and was ejected from the Harley-Davidson as it ran off the right side of the road, officials said.
There was no word if Byrd wore a helmet.
No other injuries were reported.
Information about what caused Byrd to lose control of the motorcycle and veer off the road was not available, but the Highway Patrol and coroner’s office continue to investigate the collision.
Through Thursday, 330 people have died in crashes in South Carolina in 2022, including 38 motorcycle riders, according to the state Department of Public Safety.
At least six people have been killed in Greenwood County crashes in 2022, and this is the second that involved a motorcycle, DPS reported.
In 2021, 159 motorcycle riders were among the 1,192 people who had died on South Carolina roads, according to DPS. One of last year’s 11 deadly crashes in Greenwood County involved a motorcycle, DPS data shows.
“Motorcycles are everywhere but they are small, easily obscured by other vehicles and roadside structures, and sometimes hard to see,” the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday while promoting Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. “Automobile drivers should watch closely for motorcycles in all directions at intersections. Avoid turns — especially left-hand turns across oncoming traffic — on yellow lights in case an approaching motorcycle is coming through the intersection.”
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