Midlands man killed in crash that left another person injured, SC coroner says
A man was killed Saturday night in a motorcycle crash that left another person hospitalized, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Philip James Bugger, a 49-year-old Gaston resident, died in in what Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher termed an accident.
The single-vehicle accident happened in the West Columbia area of Lexington County, said Master Trooper Mitchell Ridgeway.
At about 8:50 p.m., Bugger was driving a 2016 Harley-Davidson north on U.S. 21, according to Ridgeway. Near the junction with Interstate 26, the motorcycle ran off the right side of the road, where it crashed into several construction barrels and a “road closed” sign, Ridgeway said.
Bugger died at the scene; a passenger was taken to Prisma Health Richland hospital, Ridgeway said.
Fisher said the passenger had non-life-threatening injuries.
Neither Bugger nor the passenger was wearing a helmet, Fisher said.
Information about what caused the motorcycle to veer off the road was not available, but the crash continues to be investigated by the Highway Patrol and coroner’s office.
Through Nov. 3, at least 817 people have died on South Carolina roads in 2024, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Last year, 1,030 people died in crashes in South Carolina, DPS reported.
At least 44 people have died in Lexington County crashes in 2024, according to DPS data. There were 45 deaths reported in the county in 2023, DPS said.
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This story was originally published November 10, 2024 at 11:33 AM with the headline "Midlands man killed in crash that left another person injured, SC coroner says."
