Man killed in overnight crash in downtown Columbia, police say

A pedestrian was killed in an overnight crash, the Columbia Police Department said Sunday.

At about 1 a.m., officers responded to a collision in the 1600 block of Assembly Street, police said in a news release. That’s in downtown Columbia, between Blanding and Taylor streets and across the road from a post office.

The man who was walking across Assembly Street died at the scene, according to the release.

The Richland County Coroner’s Office is expected to publicly identify the pedestrian after notifying the next of kin.

No other injuries were reported by police.

The collision happened after the man stepped off the curb on the eastbound side of Assembly Street, and outside of an available crosswalk, and was hit by a vehicle heading south, according to the release.

Police said the pedestrian was wearing non-reflective dark clothing.

The collision continues to be investigated by police and the coroner’s office.

This was the second deadly crash involving a pedestrian on a Columbia road in less than five hours. In an unrelated incident, another pedestrian was killed Saturday night in a crash not far from Williams-Brice Stadium.

At about 8:50 p.m., a 2019 Ram 1500 pickup truck was heading south on Interstate 77 and exiting on Shop Road when it hit and killed a pedestrian who was in the road, according to South Carolina Highway Patrol.

Through Friday afternoon, 811 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2021, including 118 pedestrians, state Department of Public Safety data shows.

There have been at least 48 people killed in Richland County crashes in 2021, and nine were pedestrians, according to DPS data.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.