Man, 52, dies after being struck by pickup truck

By JASON WERMERS
Item Staff Writer
jwermers@theitem.com

A 52-year-old Sumter man was killed after he was struck by a pickup truck Saturday night while he was walking along East Red Bay Road just east of the city limits.

Marion McKnight, of 1055 Boulevard Road, was wearing dark clothing -- a dark green shirt, blue jeans and brown shoes -- while walking along a street with no sidewalks or streetlights after night had fallen, Sumter County Coroner Harvin Bullock said.

"The visibility was extremely limited," Bullock said. "It was very dark. There were no streetlights, and he had on dark clothing."

McKnight, who was walking west on the shoulder of East Red Bay, walked into the path of an oncoming 1988 Ford pickup truck, driven by Robert L. Dukes, 63, of 2260 Boulevard Road, and was hit, said Lance Cpl. Josef Robinson of the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

McKnight was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:10 p.m., Robinson said.

Bullock said McKnight will be sent to Newberry Pathology Associates on Monday for an autopsy.

Dukes was not hurt in the crash, and he didn't have any passengers with him. Dukes was not under the influence of alcohol, and he was wearing a seatbelt, Robinson said.