SC man killed in Greenwood County motorcycle crash: Coroner

One person was killed Monday afternoon when a motorcycle ran off a road and crashed into a ditch, the South Carolina Highway Patrol said.

Danny Ray Simpson was the rider who died in the accident, Greenwood County Coroner Sonny Cox said. The 47-year-old Greenwood resident suffered blunt force trauma and died at the scene, according to Cox.

The single-vehicle collision happened at about 4:20 p.m. on Utopia Acres Drive, according to Master Trooper Brandon Bolt of the Highway Patrol. That’s in Greenwood County, near the intersection with U.S. 25.

Simpson was driving west on a 1995 Kawasaki when the motorcycle crossed the center line and ran off the left side of Utopia Acres Drive, Bolt said.

The motorcycle hit a ditch and Simpson was ejected, according to Bolt.

Simpson was the only rider on the bike, Bolt said. No other injuries were reported by Highway Patrol.

There was no word if Simpson wore a helmet.

Information about what caused the motorcycle to veer off the road was not available, but the crash continues to be investigated by the coroner’s office and Highway Patrol.

This was the second deadly crash in Greenwood County in a three day stretch.

On Saturday, a 52-year-old Hodges resident was killed when the pickup truck he was driving ran off the road and crashed into a tree, according to Cox.

Through Monday, 10 motorcycle riders were among the 139 people who had died on South Carolina roads in 2022, state Department of Public Safety data shows.

At least five people have been killed in Greenwood County crashes in 2022, and this is the first that involved a motorcycle, DPS reported.

In 2021, 154 motorcycle riders were among the 1,149 people who had died on South Carolina roads, according to DPS. One of last year’s 11 deadly crashes in Greenwood County involved a motorcycle, DPS data shows.

This story was originally published March 8, 2022 7:52 AM.