A motorcycle rider died at the scene and his passenger died later at a hospital after their bike collided with a car just after midnight on Highway 160 at Tillberg Way in Tega Cay. The driver of the car was arrested and booked on multiple counts of felony driving under the influence resulting in death, then taken to the Moss Justice Center to await formal warrants.
Calls Reported a Vehicle-Versus-Motorcycle Crash
According to the Fort Mill Sun, Tega Cay police dispatched officers to the intersection shortly after midnight Saturday after emergency calls reported a vehicle-versus-motorcycle crash. The male motorcycle operator suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency personnel, the Sun reported. As reported by WSOC-TV, two people were killed following the crash between a car and a motorcycle shortly after midnight Saturday, with the accident occurring on Highway 160 at Tillberg Way.
The female passenger riding on the motorcycle was critically injured and transported to Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill, where she died despite efforts by medical staff to save her, per the Sun's account. WSOC-TV similarly reported that the female passenger was taken to a nearby hospital, where she later died.
Driver Booked, Identities Withheld
Officers took into custody Vernell Laurthel Hayes, identified as the driver of the motor vehicle, and transported Hayes to the Moss Justice Center in York County, where he is being held pending formal arrest warrants, according to the Sun's reporting. The station's report separately confirmed that the driver of the vehicle was arrested and transported to the Moss Justice Center pending warrants, though it did not name the driver.
Authorities have not made public the identities of the two people who died, and officials are completing family notifications, the Sun reported. Law enforcement officials have said they will not release further details about how the crash happened or disclose additional charges at this time, per the same account, as investigators continue processing evidence from the scene.
Joint Investigation Continues
The Tega Cay Police Department confirmed the incident remains under active investigation, with the department and the South Carolina Highway Patrol investigating the crash together, according to the Sun. WSOC-TV likewise reported that the Tega Cay Police Department is conducting the investigation in coordination with the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Saturday's crash adds to a string of motorcycle fatalities that have struck York County roads in recent years. The county recorded five fatalities in 29 motorcycle-involved crashes during all of 2023, according to the Herald, and three other motorcycle crashes in York County in July 2025 also ended with riders dead, including one in which a motorcyclist died on U.S. 321 between York and Clover after colliding with a sedan. A separate 2022 collision at S.C. 160 and Brayden Parkway, between Fort Mill and Tega Cay, killed a motorcycle driver and was counted as the 12th fatality on York County roads that year, per South Carolina Department of Public Safety statistics cited by the Herald.
Other South Carolina DUI-death cases have resulted in lengthy prison sentences and felony charges. In Spartanburg County, Eri Otoniel Roblero Perez was sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of felony DUI with death following a crash in which two children riding bicycles were killed; his blood alcohol level was reported at .264, according to WYFF4. In Anderson County, Nelson Daniel Cooley, the driver of a pickup truck, was charged with felony DUI resulting in death after colliding with a motorcycle, the station separately reported. A South Carolina bill proposed language stating that felony DUI resulting in death is not a no-parole offense, according to the South Carolina Legislature; the offense is currently classified as a no-parole offense.
