3-wheel moped driver killed in crash with truck, South Carolina coroner says
One driver recently was killed and another was hospitalized following a crash involving a pickup truck and a three-wheel moped, according to the Aiken County Coroner’s Office.
Donald Rushton, a 61-year-old Salley resident, is the driver who died in the Saturday night wreck, Coroner Darryl Ables said in a news release.
The two-vehicle collision happened at about 7:45 p.m. in Aiken County, according to the release.
Rushton was driving a 2018 Hozhou three-wheel moped north on Walker Road, the coroner’s office said. The moped was hit from behind by a 2011 Toyota Tundra that was also driving north on Walker Road, according to the release.
Rushton died at the scene, the coroner’s office said.
The Toyota drive was hurt and taken to an area hospital, according to the release. Further information on the pickup driver’s condition was not available.
No other injuries were reported.
There was no word if anyone involved in the crash was wearing seatbelts or safety restraints, but the wreck continues to be investigated by the coroner’s office and the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
An autopsy will be performed in Newberry, according to the release.
Through Jan. 4, at least five people had died on South Carolina roads in 2026, according to the state Department of Public Safety. A minimum of 914 people were killed in collisions in South Carolina in 2025, DPS data shows.
This was the new year’s first deadly crash reported in Aiken County, where at least 23 people died in crashes in 2025, according to DPS data.
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