Two people dead after automobile accidents in Rosewood-Devine street area
Columbia police are investigating two fatal automobile crashes that occurred hours apart in the Rosewood Drive corridor of the city Tuesday evening, including one in which a pedestrian was hit by a car.
In the first crash, a man riding a motorcycle died near the intersection of Fort Jackson Boulevard and Wildcat Road after a collision with a pickup truck, according to a tweet from the Columbia Police Department.
Ramey Reddie Jr., a 51-year-old Columbia resident was identified as the victim by the Richland County Coroner’s Office. Reddie was pronounced dead after police arrived about 6 p.m. Tuesday.
The second fatality occurred near a convenience store on Rosewood Drive at South Edisto Avenue when a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The coroner’s office identified the victim in the Rosewood pedestrian death as Charleton E. Ard, 47, of Columbia.
“We will continue working with the Columbia Police Department to fully investigate the crash,’’ Coroner Naida Rutherford said in a statement Wednesday.
Police said they are trying to determine if speed was a factor in the Rosewood crash. Rutherford, in an interview with The State newspaper, said preliminary information shows that the man died after being struck by a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed.
Columbia Police released more information Wednesday night, posting on the social media platform, X, that they are trying to determine if the man crossed the street while the traffic light was green.
The man was walking southbound when he was struck by a Honda traveling east on Rosewood, police said. The driver has not been identified and there was no word on any charges. But police said the driver was an 18-year-old.
Jamal Suber, who lives near the crash site on South Edisto, said he saw police interviewing a young woman on Rosewood who was visibly upset after the accident. Suber said he also has video of the crash from cameras mounted on his home for security purposes.
In the video, the pedestrian reached Rosewood “stopped, he looked and then started to walk,’’ Suber said. “When he got to about the middle of Rosewood, you can see two cars. They are wide open.’’’
Suber said the video shows that the man then “tries to run, to get out of the road. There was no braking, nothing. He was struck and you can see (him) fly into the air.’’
Police said the Wildcat Road-Fort Jackson Boulevard fatality involved a motorcycle traveling east on the boulevard. A GMC truck was traveling west when the collision occurred, police said.
Police said the GMC driver signaled to turn left onto Wildcat Road. The motorcycle rider then tried to avoid the truck by laying the motorcycle down on the road. But he slid several feet on the street “toward impact with the passenger’s side of the GMC,’’ police said on X.
The two accidents happened within about three to four miles of each other in the southern part of Columbia. Rosewood Drive is a major in-town traffic artery that connects South Assembly Street to lower Devine Street. Rosewood then becomes Wildcat Road after crossing Devine Street.
While details of the accidents continue to emerge, the pedestrian death on Rosewood and South Edisto caused a buzz on Facebook.
Members of a Rosewood neighborhood group said pedestrian safety is a concern on the four-lane road. The area where the accident occurred is near a convenience store, a pub, a snow cone stand and a discount store just up the hill from South Assembly Street.
“My question is when is Columbia Police Department going to do something about the drivers,’’ according to one Facebook post.
This story was originally published June 19, 2024 at 9:46 AM with the headline "Two people dead after automobile accidents in Rosewood-Devine street area."
