Bluffton man charged in 2016 Okatie bicyclist death

A Bluffton man has been charged in relation to the death of a bicyclist struck in Okatie in May 2016.

Travis Orlando Dawkins, 31, was served with a warrant on the charge of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in personal injury by the South Carolina Highway Patrol on Saturday as he sat in the Beaufort County Detention Center on an unrelated charge, according to Trooper Judd Jones.

Dawkins is accused of leaving the scene of a crash that killed Stanley Morton, 45, on May 13.

Dawkins allegedly drove a BMW 3-series that fled the scene. Morton was struck by two vehicles as he rode a bicycle, but the other driver is not facing charges, Jones said.

Morton died after he was struck around 11 p.m. in the area of S.C. 170 near River’s End Road.

The patrol released a description of the suspect’s vehicle that said Morton was struck by a four-door sedan manufactured between 1993 and 1999. The exact color of the vehicle was unknown, the patrol said, but there may have been front bumper and undercarriage damage.

Jones was not immediately able to say what led investigators to Dawkins on Saturday.

Dawkins was booked into the detention center on Jan. 25 after he was arrested by a US Marshals Service taskforce after he allegedly cut a woman with a knife on Jan. 17, leaving her with injuries to her hand and arm, according to a Bluffton Police Department news release.

The police department enlisted the help of the taskforce, and Dawkins was found in Okatie six days later, the release said.

He was charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.

Dawkins remains in custody at the detention center where he awaits bond hearings, according to the jail’s website.

This story was originally published February 4, 2017 at 5:53 PM with the headline "Bluffton man charged in 2016 Okatie bicyclist death."