Man riding bicycle killed in crash in downtown Columbia identified by SC coroner
A man was killed May 7 in South Carolina when the bicycle he was riding was involved in a crash with a cement truck, according to the Columbia Police Department.
Javon O. Hardy, 31, is the victim who died, Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford said May 12.
Police said a serious traffic collision happened at 12:46 p.m., at the intersection of Main Street and Calhoun Street, in the downtown Columbia area.
A concrete truck was driving south on Main Street and had a green light while turning right onto Calhoun Street, Deputy Chief Melron Kelly said Thursday in a news release.
Officers reviewed surveillance video and spoke with witnesses and learned that the bike rider, later identified as Hardy, was traveling east on the sidewalk before he turned onto Calhoun Street in front of the cement/concrete truck, according to police.
The bicycle rider “entered the path of the concrete truck and was ... struck,” Kelly said.
First responders from the Columbia Fire Department and Richland County EMS arrived and took the injured bicycle rider to Prisma Health Richland hospital, where Hardy died on arrival, police said.
The Richland County Coroner’s Office is assisting the police department’s Traffic Safety Unit with the investigation.
No other injuries were reported.
Through Sunday, 278 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2025, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Last year, at least 948 people died in crashes in South Carolina, DPS reported.
At least 19 people have died in Richland County crashes in 2025, according to DPS data. There were 52 deaths in the county in 2024, DPS reported.
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This story was originally published May 8, 2025 at 7:26 AM.
