Saturday a deadly day on Myrtle Beach area roads

Saturday was one of the deadliest days on Horry County roads in recent memory.

Four people were killed in four separate motor vehicle crashes Saturday between 1 a.m. and 5 p.m.

No records can be found of another day with more fatal crashes in Horry County, said Emily Thomas, a statistician with the S.C. Department of Public Safety's Office of Highway Safety.

Thomas said a search of records for the last 10 years revealed no other instances of four separate, deadly motor vehicle collisions. Information from before 2001 is more difficult to access because of a major overhaul in their data system, she said.

She said she found a number of days where three fatal collisions took place and one day in 2007 four people died in three separate crashes.

On Feb. 23, 2007 a pickup truck driver, the driver and passenger in a mini-van and a pedestrian were killed in three separate collisions, Thomas said.

This weekend's crashes still are being investigated by the South Carolina Highway Patrol but no charges are expected, said Lance Cpl. Sonny Collins with the Highway Patrol.

"It appears the at-fault drivers were the ones who were killed," he said.

That includes a crash on U.S. 501 near downtown Myrtle Beach that killed a motorcyclist who was being chased by Horry County police.

It took place around 1 a.m. at the intersection of U.S. 501 near Broadway Street when 21-year-old Alexander M. Savage lost control of his motorcycle after reaching speeds of more than 100 miles per hour, according to a dashboard camera video.

Sgt. Robert Kegler, the Horry County Police Department spokesman, said police had received notification to be on the lookout for an intoxicated motorcyclist who had crashed outside The Gold Club in Myrtle Beach.

Kegler said police saw a motorcycle matching the description and it was stopped on the crest of the Waccamaw Pottery Bridge.

Kegler said Savage, who was operating the motorcycle, stopped while on the bridge and then started moving again.

Officers thought Savage could be moving to the end of the bridge where there would be more room and a safer traffic stop could take place, Kegler said. But Savage did not stop at the end of the bridge and officers pursued him until he crashed near Broadway Street in Myrtle Beach, Kegler said.

Right before the crash an officer can be heard on the video saying that speeds of around 100 miles per hour were reached. Savage lost control while going around a slight curve and was thrown from the bike. He was not wearing a helmet.

Highway Patrol will be investigating the crash and Kegler said the details of what role Horry County police will play are still being worked out.

Savage recently moved to Myrtle Beach from Fort Bragg after serving in the Army, said Horry County Coroner Robert Edge.

Edge said after the autopsy is complete a toxicological analysis will be done, but the results of that will take a while to come back.

On Monday the investigation into that accident and an accident in Little River where a pedestrian was hit and killed were ongoing.

Around 2 a.m. on Saturday, a male pedestrian wearing dark clothing and walking in the street near the intersection of S.C. 31 and S.C. 9 in Little River was killed after being struck by a 2004 Chevrolet pickup.

Horry County Deputy Coroner Tony Hendrick identified the pedestrian Monday as Timothy Miller Baker, 47, of Little River.

The highway patrol said the driver was not injured and won't be charged.

There were also two other fatal crashes this weekend.

One took place at 6:50 a.m. Saturday near the intersection of S.C. 707 and Bay Road in Myrtle Beach after a Chevrolet pickup traveling south on 707 crossed the center line and struck a minivan head-on.

The driver of the pickup, Dentrell Palmer, 23, who lived about a half mile from the crash, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Edge.

The minivan driver was taken to Grand Strand Regional Medical Center for treatment, according to troopers.

The fourth crash of the weekend took place around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday when a Mullins man was killed while riding his motorcycle with family members along S.C. 9, according the Horry County Coroners office.

Thomas McDowell Harrelson, 53, died at Grand Strand Regional Medical Center at 4:32 p.m. from chest trauma after crashing his motorcycle. He was wearing a helmet.

Harrelson was riding with some family members when he appeared to lose control of the motorcycle and hit a median on S.C. 9 near Bell and Bell auto dealership.