SC man killed in motorcycle crash identified by Kershaw County coroner

A man was killed in a motorcycle crash on Thursday morning in Lugoff, the Kershaw County Coroner’s Office said.

Joshua Valentine, a 23-year-old from the Bethune, SC area, died after his motorcycle collided with a tractor-trailer at the intersection of Fort Jackson Road and Hunt Road Road in Lugoff, Coroner David West said in a release.

The accident occurred around 9:43 a.m., according to a release from Cpl. Tyler Tidwell with the state Department of Public Safety. The tractor-trailer was traveling west on Fort Jackson Road and was turning right onto Hunt Road when Valentine, also traveling west on Fort Jackson Road on his 2020 Harley-Davidson motorcycle, collided with the rear right side of the trailer.

Valentine was on his way to work when the accident occurred and was pronounced dead at the scene, West said. He was wearing a helmet.

The driver of the tractor-trailer was uninjured, Tidwell said.

The accident is under investigation by the South Carolina Highway Patrol and Kershaw County Coroner’s Office, West said.

At least 42 people have died in motorcycle-related accidents in South Carolina in 2023 as of June 2, according to Department of Public Safety data. At least 145 people died in motorcycle-related accidents in 2022.