Man dies after being thrown off Gervais Street bridge in crash, SC police say

A Georgia man has died days after he was hit by an SUV and thrown off the Gervais Street bridge during a visit to South Carolina, according to the Columbia Police Department.

Read more One person killed when vehicle runs off road and crashes into tree, SC cops say

Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford identified 24-year-old Snellville, Georgia resident Michael Derrick as the victim who died, police said Sunday in a news release. Information about when Derrick died was not available.

The now-deadly wreck occurred on the night of May 31 on the bridge connecting downtown Columbia and West Columbia, police said.

Derrick was walking on a sidewalk on the eastbound side of the Gervais Street bridge when he was hit by an SUV that ran up on the sidewalk, Deputy Police Chief Melron Kelly previously told The State. Derrick was dragged by the SUV before being thrown over the guardrail, according to Kelly.

Derrick did not land in the water, but fell onto the bank of the Congaree River, Kelly said. Emergency responders found the victim, who suffered serious injuries, and took him to an area hospital, according to Kelly.

Derrick was visiting South Carolina, Kelly previously said.

Driver was arrested

Police identified 30-year-old William Joseph Livingston as the SUV driver, and after being taken to a hospital for an examination he was charged with felony driving under the influence resulting in bodily injury, police previously said. Following Derrick’s death, the charge was upgraded to felony DUI resulting in death, police said in a Sunday night news release.

Bond originally was set at $1,000,000 for Livingston, but following Derrick’s death it was revoked, according to the release. Since his June 1 arrest, Livingston has remained locked up in the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, jail records show.

Livingston is scheduled to return to court Aug. 28, according to Richland County judicial records.

Lexington County court records show that Livingston has been previously arrested and pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including one count of open container of beer or wine in motor vehicle.

Bridge over the Congaree River

Along with the Blossom Street bridge and the Jarvis Klapman bridge, the Gervais Street bridge is one of three in downtown that funnels traffic between Columbia and Lexington County.

Read more Man dies after being thrown off Gervais Street bridge in crash, SC police say

Last year, an average of 26,900 drivers crossed the Gervais Street bridge daily, according to the South Carolina Department of Transportation.

Prior to Sunday, there have been at least 14 collisions on the Gervais Street bridge between January 2024 and March 2026, The State previously reported. One of those occurred Feb. 5, during the morning commute, and another happened March 14 when one person was killed and another was seriously injured.

The bridge that spans the Congaree River has narrow lanes, and improper lane usage was the primary factor in nearly half of the past crashes.

When construction on the bridge, as it’s currently constituted, was completed in June 1928, it had the widest roadway in South Carolina, The State reported. Now, its lanes are each about four feet shorter in width than is recommended for bridges built today.

“As the Midlands grow, as Columbia grows, the traffic flow also has grown,” Kelly said. “Drivers have got to take their time on the bridge.”

Through May 31, at least 340 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2026, according to the state Department of Public Safety. A minimum of 914 people were killed in collisions in South Carolina in 2025, DPS data shows.

At least 26 people have died in Richland County crashes this year, and 48 people died in wrecks there in 2025, according to DPS data.