Seabrook man becomes third bicyclist killed in Beaufort County in 2018
A 63-year-old Seabrook man became the third bicyclist to die on Beaufort County roads this year after he was struck by a vehicle Monday.
James Wallace Powell was riding north on Trask Parkway near Big Road at about 5:30 p.m. when he was hit by a Nissan Altima traveling in the same direction, S.C. Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. David Jones said. Powell was identified as the bicyclist and pronounced dead at the scene, Beaufort County Coroner Ed Allen said.
An autopsy is scheduled Wednesday.
The driver of the car wasn’t hurt in the crash. The Highway Patrol is investigating and no charges had been filed Tuesday afternoon.
In South Carolina, 122 pedestrians had been killed on the road through Oct. 21, according to the S.C. Department of Public Safety. Sixteen bicyclists were killed during the same period.
In Beaufort County, six pedestrians and cyclists have died in 2018 — a third of the auto-related deaths in the county, according to the coroner’s office.
Luis Cabrera Lorenzana, a 66-year-old Hilton Head Island man, was struck and killed while riding his bicycle on the island in September. Jiovaani Aranza Gallegos faces felony charges in the case after authorities said he hit Lorenzana with a minivan and left the scene.
A bicyclist was also killed on Lady’s Island in April, the coroner’s office said. The coroner’s office could not provide the name of the victim late Tuesday.
A 28-year-old North Carolina man riding a bicycle was hit and seriously injured by a vehicle on Hilton Head Island in August. Hilton Head restaurant owner David Frances Reilley faces a felony DUI charge in that case, according to the Highway Patrol and court records.
Three pedestrians have died in the county this year.
An 11-year-old Hilton Head girl was killed after being struck by a vehicle in a crosswalk in June.
In April, 23-year-old Michael Smalls died and three others were injured when they were hit by a car late at night on Detour Road in Seabrook.
Charmaine Anthony Warthern, a 43-year-old Bluffton man, was hit and killed in January on Buckwalter Parkway in Bluffton.
Last year The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette reported that 2016 had been the worst year for pedestrian and bicyclist deaths in a decade. The newspaper’s analysis of state data found that pedestrians and cyclists are found at fault in collisions about an equal amount to drivers.
But those on foot or pedaling are found at fault much more often in fatal cases, the newspapers found.
This story was originally published October 23, 2018 at 9:48 AM with the headline "Seabrook man becomes third bicyclist killed in Beaufort County in 2018."