High school student killed in crash on South Carolina road, coroner says
A 16-year-old was killed Friday when the motorcycle he was driving ran off a road and crashed, according to South Carolina officials.
Walhalla resident Tanner Hopkins died in what Oconee County Coroner Karl Addis called an accident.
The single-vehicle collision happened at about 3 p.m., said Master Trooper Hannah Davidson of the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Hopkins was driving the 2004 Suzuki east on S.C. 28/Highlands Highway, according to Davidson. Near the entrance to Stumphouse Tunnel Road the motorcycle ran off the right side of S.C. 28 and crashed into a guardrail, Davidson said.
Hopkins, who was a student at Walhalla High School, died at the scene from blunt force traumatic injuries, according to Addis.
No other injuries were reported.
There was no word if Hopkins was wearing a helmet.
Information about what caused the motorcycle to veer off the road was not available, but the crash continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol.
Less than 22 hours later another deadly wreck occurred in Oconee County.
At about 12:45 p.m. Saturday, two pickup trucks collided at the intersection of U.S. 76/Long Creek Highway and Coffee Road, said Cpl. Nick Pye of the Highway Patrol. That’s about 12 miles south of where Friday’s crash occurred.
David Lewis Dickson, a 68-year-old Westminster resident, died in what Addis also called an accident.
Dickson was driving a 1990 Chevrolet pickup east on U.S. 76, when he slowed down to turn left onto Coffee Road, according to Pye. At that moment a 2015 Ford pickup, which was also driving east on U.S. 76, crashed into the Chevy, Pye said.
Dickson was taken to Oconee Memorial Hospital, where he died in the emergency room at 1:37 p.m. from the blunt force injuries he suffered in the wreck, according to Addis.
Pye said the Ford driver was not hurt, and no other injuries were reported.
There was no word if either of the pickup drivers were wearing seatbelts. The crash is being investigated by the Highway Patrol.
Through Nov. 9, at least 753 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 17 people have died in Oconee County crashes in 2025, according to DPS data. There were 15 deaths in the county in 2024, DPS reported.
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