Lexington man dies after crashing into a deer, South Carolina coroner says
A Midlands man was killed after the motorcycle he was riding was involved in a New Year’s Day crash with a deer, according to the Berkeley County Coroner’s Office.
Kevin Douglas, a 53-year-old Lexington resident, is the man who died in what Coroner Darnell Hartwell called an accident.
The collision happened Jan. 1 on a stretch of Highway 35 running through St. Stephen, Hartwell said in a news release.
At about 6 p.m., Douglas was driving a 2006 Suzuki motorcycle on Highway 35 when it collided with a deer, according to the release.
Douglas was ejected from the motorcycle and taken to an area hospital, where he died, the coroner’s office said.
No other injuries were reported.
Information about the deer’s condition was not available.
There was no word if Douglas was wearing a helmet, but the crash continues to be investigated by the coroner’s office and the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Berkeley County EMS, the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office and North Berkeley Fire and Rescue responded to the wreck.
Through Dec. 29, at least 948 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2024, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Last year, 1,030 people died in crashes in South Carolina, DPS reported.
At least 33 people died in Berkeley County crashes in 2024, according to DPS data.
Another driver who was involved in a Berkeley County crash in late December died during the first week of January, officials said.
Carolyn Odle, an 84-year-old Goose Creek resident, died Jan. 4 at a Lowcountry hospital from the injuries she suffered in a Dec. 22 collision, the coroner’s office said.
That collision continues to be investigated by the coroner’s office and the Highway Patrol.
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