One rider killed, another hurt when car hits moped on busy Columbia road, SC cops say

One person was killed and another was injured when a moped was hit from behind by a car on a busy Richland County road, the South Carolina Highway Patrol said Wednesday.

The two-vehicle collision happened Tuesday at about 10:30 p.m., near the intersection of Hard Scrabble Road and Clemson Road, according to Lance Cpl. Tyler Tidwell. That’s in an area of Columbia that’s densely packed with restaurants, retail businesses and houses of worship.

Both the moped and a 2016 Honda Accord were driving south on Hard Scrabble Road when the car hit the bike in the rear, killing one rider and hurting the other, Tidwell said.

The Richland County Coroner’s Office has not publicly identified the moped rider who died.

The other person riding the moped was taken to Prisma Health Richland hospital, according to Tidwell. Further information on the surviving moped rider’s condition was not available.

There was no word which rider was driving the moped, or if either of the occupants was wearing a helmet.

Information about possible criminal charges was not available, but the crash continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol.

Through Sunday, 957 people have died on South Carolina roads in 2022, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Last year, 1,194 people died in crashes in South Carolina, DPS reported.

At least 62 people have been killed in Richland County crashes in 2022, according to DPS. There were 73 deaths there last year, DPS data shows.