A deadly week on Beaufort, Jasper roadways: 2 drivers, 1 pedestrian killed in 3-day span
It was a deadly week on the roadways of Beaufort and Jasper counties, with three traffic fatalities reported in a three-day period. Three separate collisions claimed the lives of 42-year-old Charleston woman Levon Richardson, 63-year-old Beaufort man Robert Bowers and 20-year-old Brian Guerrero-Jacobo from Hardeeville, both coroner’s offices said.
Oct. 7: Pedestrian fatally struck in northern Beaufort County
The first fatal collision happened just after 9 p.m. Monday on U.S. 17, approximately 13 miles west of Beaufort city limits, according to Master Trooper Brandon Bolt of the South Carolina Highway Patrol. A 2009 Lexus sedan was driving north on Trask Parkway while Richardson walked in the same direction. The vehicle “struck the pedestrian in the roadway,” according to the release from SCHP. EMS crews took the driver of the Lexus to the hospital for treatment.
Richardson was pronounced dead at 9:04 p.m. Monday at the scene, according to Beaufort County Coroner David Ott. The woman’s celebration of life will be held at noon Oct. 14 at the Vanderhorst Memorial Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, according to her obituary.
Oct. 8: 3-vehicle collision kills driver on same highway
Another traffic-related casualty on Trask Parkway was reported the following morning, this incident involving three different vehicles. A 1988 Freightliner truck and a 2015 Dodge pickup truck were driving north on the highway while Bowers traveled south in a 2014 Ford pickup Tuesday morning, according to Trooper Nick Pye of the SCHP. Around 11:02 a.m., the Ford and the Freightliner collided, causing the Ford to crash into the Dodge, the release says. A driver and passenger in the Dodge pickup truck were taken to a local hospital with injuries.
Bowers was pronounced dead at the scene Tuesday morning, according to Ott. He was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, the coroner said. Funeral arrangements had not been publicly announced as of Friday afternoon.
Oct. 9: Motorcyclist dead after multi-vehicle crash in Jasper County
In the rural outskirts of Jasper County, another three-car collision took the life of a young motorcyclist the next day. Guerrero-Jacobo was riding a 2024 Kawaski motorcycle north on Sand Hills Road while a 2006 Honda Ridgeline and 2013 Cadillac ATS traveled south on the same road Wednesday morning, according to Sgt. Tyler Tidwell of the SCHP. At about 7 a.m., the motorcycle collided with the Cadillac as the sedan was passing the Honda pickup truck, according to a release from the Jasper County Coroner’s Office. The motorcyclist “was then struck by the Honda Ridgeline,” Tidwell said.
Guerro-Jacobo was pronounced dead at the scene, Jasper County Coroner Willie P. Aiken said. His autopsy is scheduled for Oct. 12 at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. The young man’s obituary and funeral arrangements had not been made public as of Friday.
All three fatal collisions remain under investigation by the SCHP.
