Driver killed when vehicle runs off I-20 and crashes, South Carolina cops say

One person was killed early Sunday morning when a motorcycle crashed on Interstate 20, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

Read more Trump says he’ll consider whether to release more 9/11 records

John Cawley III, a 50-year-old North Augusta resident, is the motorcycle rider who died, Aiken County Coroner Darryl Ables said.

The single-vehicle collision happened at about 2:30 a.m. in Aiken County, said Sgt. Tyler Tidwell of the Highway Patrol.

Cawley was driving a 2017 Harley-Davidson west on I-20, toward the state line with Georgia, according to Tidwell. At the 25-mile marker, the motorcycle ran off the left side of I-20 and spilled then crashed into the median cable, Tidwell said.

Cawley was the only person on the Harley-Davidson, according to Tidwell. Cawley died at the scene of the wreck, Ables said.

Read more Memorial statue of conservative activist Charlie Kirk vandalized

No other injuries were reported.

There was no word if the Harley-Davidson rider was wearing a helmet.

Information about what caused the motorcycle to veer off I-20 was not available, but Ables said both his office and the Highway Patrol are investigating the crash. Results of toxicology tests are pending, according to Ables.

Through Sept. 7, at least 605 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 20 people have died in Aiken County crashes this year, and 23 people died in wrecks there in 2025, according to DPS data.