Officials have confirmed that a truck driver from South Carolina was killed in a train accident

A train crashed into a pickup truck early Tuesday morning, resulting in one person’s death, according to the Columbia Police Department.

Otto Asmond Jr., a 57-year-old man from West Columbia, was recognized as the victim by Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford on Wednesday.

The crash occurred before 4:30 a.m. on the train lines close to the intersection of S.C. 16/Sunset Drive and Phillips Street, according to the police. That’s in central Columbia, close to the Prisma Health Richland hospital.

According to the police, an Amtrak passenger train was going north on the CSX railway, headed to North Carolina.

An investigation found that the pickup truck was going west on Sunset Drive when the driver went around the crossing arms, which had flashing lights, and was struck by the train, according to the police.

The cops informed The State that the pickup driver has died.

The police said the coroner’s office is helping with the probe.

No other injuries were recorded.

As of Sunday, 52 people have died on South Carolina roads in 2025, according to the state’s Department of Public Safety. Last year, at least 948 people died in accidents in South Carolina, according to the Department of Public Safety (DPS).

According to records from the DPS, at least six people have died in crashes in Richland County in 2025. In 2024, the DPS stated that there were 52 deaths in the county.

Four of those deaths happened since Saturday afternoon.