Clemson student and Marine Corps vet killed in crash with bus, SC officials say
A South Carolina man who was a student at Clemson University as well as a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps was killed Monday when the motorcycle he was driving was involved in a crash with a public bus, officials said.
Jacob Babayan, a 26-year-old Greer resident, was the driver who died, according to the Pickens County Coroner’s Office.
Babayan was a general engineering major and a member of the Student Veterans Association, Clemson University officials said.
The crash
The two-vehicle collision happened around 4 p.m. Monday in the South Carolina town of Central, according to the coroner’s office.
Babayan’s motorcycle collided with a CAT bus at the intersection of West Main Street and Vickery Drive, the coroner’s office said. That’s about 3 miles north of the Clemson University campus.
Babayan, who was wearing a helmet, died at the scene, according to the coroner’s office.
No other injuries were reported.
Information about what led to the wreck was not available, but the crash continues to be investigated by the coroner’s office and the Central Police Department.
“We were saddened to learn of Jacob’s passing,” Clemson Vice President for Student Affairs Doug Hallenbeck said on the university’s website. “He was a valuable contributor to the student experience as a transfer and a beloved student assistant in the Office of Military and Veteran Engagement. He will be deeply missed by students, faculty and staff. Our thoughts are with his loved ones during this incredibly difficult time.”
Clemson said it is providing grief counseling services to students, faculty and staff.
Another motorcycle crash near Clemson
This was the second fatal crash involving a motorcycle rider in this area of the Upstate region in three days.
On Saturday, a 16-year-old girl who was driving a motorcycle, while trying to escape law enforcement officers, died in a crash on Sheep Farm Road that was called an accident by the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office.
Although this fatal wreck happened in a neighboring county, it is also near the Clemson University campus, and about 13 miles from where Babayan was killed.
The rider in last Saturday’s deadly crash, a Laurens High School student, was wearing a helmet, according to the Oconee County Coroner’s Office.
No other injuries were reported in that collision and the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office said “no deputies were involved in the accident.”
Through Sunday, 701 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2025, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Last year, at least 948 people died in crashes in South Carolina, DPS reported.
At least 13 people have died in Pickens County crashes in 2025, according to DPS data. There were 17 deaths in the county in 2024, DPS reported.
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This story was originally published October 16, 2025 at 9:54 AM with the headline "Clemson student and Marine Corps vet killed in crash with bus, SC officials say."
