Two men killed over the weekend in crashes separated by miles, SC coroner says
Two South Carolina men were killed over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend when they were involved in separate crashes that happened in the same Midlands county.
Both collisions were called accidents, Sumter County Coroner Robbie Baker said Monday in a news release.
The first deadly wreck happened sometime between late Thursday night and early Friday morning, according to the release. Sumter County resident Michael Barrs, 45, was driving a motorcycle and crashed at the intersection of McCrays Mill Road and Player Road, Baker said.
Baker said that Barrs died from the injuries he suffered in the wreck, that’s being investigated by the coroner’s office and the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
There was no word if Barrs was wearing a helmet, or about what caused him to crash.
The second collision happened Sunday, about 6 miles east of the crash site where Barrs died.
At about 7:30 p.m. Sunday, 69-year-old Sumter County resident James Byrd was walking on South Lafayette Drive when he was hit by a vehicle, according to the release.
Byrd was taken to Prisma Health Tuomey hospital where the pedestrian died, the coroner’s office said.
Baker said his office, along with the Sumter Police Department are continuing to investigate Byrd’s death.
No other injuries were reported in either of the crashes.
Through Nov. 23, at least 784 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 22 people have died in Sumter County crashes in 2025, according to DPS data. There were 19 deaths in the county in 2024, DPS reported.
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