A 42-year-old Bonneau man died Wednesday morning after crashing his motorcycle on South Live Oak Drive in Moncks Corner, becoming the second motorcyclist killed in Berkeley County in as many days. Dennis Montgomery Sweatman was the sole occupant of a 2015 Harley-Davidson when he went down just before 10:30 a.m. and was later pronounced dead at a local emergency room.
The Berkeley County Coroner’s Office identified the victim as Dennis Montgomery Sweatman, 42, of Bonneau, according to live5news.com. The outlet reported that he was driving a 2015 Harley-Davidson motorcycle on South Live Oak Drive just before 10:30 a.m. when he crashed, and that he was the sole occupant of the vehicle. WCIV also reported on the crash, noting that law enforcement did not provide the cause of the crash in its immediate report, according to WCIV.
The Berkeley County Coroner’s Office said it was notified on October 28, 2026, at 10:24 a.m. of a victim who was pronounced dead in a local emergency room from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident, per the same account from counton2.com. Several agencies responded to the scene, including the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office, Berkeley County Emergency Medical Services, South Carolina Highway Patrol and Central Berkeley Fire & EMS, the station reported.
Investigation Continues Into Cause
No cause or contributing factors have been released for the crash. The Berkeley County Coroner’s Office and the South Carolina Highway Patrol are investigating this incident, counton2.com reported.
The crash came just a day after another motorcyclist died in Berkeley County. Von Reid Hiner, 57, of Walterboro, was pronounced dead at a local emergency room after crashing on Interstate 26 near Exit 194 on October 27, according to live5news.com. Hiner was the sole occupant of a 2023 Indian motorcycle traveling eastbound at the time, and that crash is also being investigated by the Berkeley County Coroner’s Office and the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
A Deadly Year on South Carolina Roads
The back-to-back fatalities reflect a difficult year for motorcyclists statewide. South Carolina troopers reported in the spring that 33 motorcyclists had been killed in the state so far in 2026, according to foxcarolina.com. The South Carolina Highway Patrol has noted that spring and early summer tend to bring more riders out for events such as Bike Fest and other bike gatherings, and the station reported that South Carolina recorded 44 motorcyclist deaths in all of 2025.
Motorcyclists remain especially vulnerable in crashes because they have little protection beyond the safety gear they choose to wear, Fox Carolina reported, citing the Highway Patrol. Preliminary figures from the South Carolina Department of Public Safety, compiled through October 11, 2026, counted 107 motorcyclists killed statewide this year, compared with 120 during the same period in 2025, though those numbers are described as preliminary and do not account for crashes since that date.
