Legion Collegiate baseball coach, 29, dies in collision on Interstate 20

Legion Collegiate Academy head baseball coach Jalen Benjamin died last week following a collision on Interstate 20 in Kershaw County. He was 29 years old.

The wreck happened at 11:43 a.m. Saturday on I-20, near mile marker 93, about seven miles west of Camden, according to an audio recording of the accident report provided by the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

Legion Collegiate athletics coordinator Rich Posipanko said Monday that Benjamin was on his way to a summer baseball game in which members of the team were playing.

According to the report, prepared by Master Trooper William Bennett, Benjamin was driving a 2006 Ford pickup truck east on the interstate when he and a 2011 Buick sedan in front of him stopped for traffic. A 2024 Freightliner tractor trailer then collided with Benjamin’s truck from behind, Bennett said. Benjamin’s truck hit the sedan, and both vehicles careened off the right side of the road.

Benjamin’s truck overturned, and he died at the scene.

The two occupants in the sedan were transported to a hospital in the area, according to the report. The tractor trailer driver, who was alone in the vehicle, was uninjured. According to the South Carolina Highway Patrol, the incident remains under investigation.

“Jalen Benjamin had a world-class smile and personality to go along with it,” Legion Collegiate athletic coordinator Rich Posipanko said. “He was a very respectful and kind-hearted man. He was a high character person. Obviously his parents certainly did a great job passing along morals, values and life lessons to him. On the baseball side, he was very respected and very knowledgeable. He was a baseball junkie and one of the best. Jalen was very passionate about his profession ahd his student-athletes. He came highly recommended to LCA when we hired him (around) 18 months ago and was a unanimous choice among the selection committee.”

“He will be missed by all of Lancer Nation and beyond,” Posipanko said. “Simply put, he was a great guy.”

Benjamin was entering his second season as head coach for the Lancers after leading the team to a 14-9-2 record in his inaugural season. He was an assistant coach on the baseball staff when Legion Collegiate first opened in 2019, leaving in 2022 to be an assistant coach at Norfolk State University before returning in 2023.

There is a GoFundMe for memorial expenses for Benjamin started by the Legion Collegiate community. The link is here.

This story was originally published August 13, 2024 at 6:00 AM.