Gavan Goodman was only 21 years old when a quick trip down Highway 501 took a devastating turn. The young Murrells Inlet resident was riding his motorcycle through Willard on Wednesday, September 30, when his bike collided with a Toyota Tundra pickup.
The crash happened right along the busy stretch of Highway 501 in Horry County. Emergency crews rushed to the scene shortly after the call came in, but Goodman did not survive the impact of the crash.
Friends and locals in Murrells Inlet know the area well. Traffic along Highway 501 moves fast through Horry County, and drivers coming in and out of Willard often face tight merges and sudden stops.
Goodman was riding his motorcycle when he came into contact with the full-sized Toyota Tundra. The force of the collision left the bike heavily damaged along the side of the road as officers blocked off lanes to investigate.
First responders secured the crash site in Willard while state troopers began collecting evidence from the road. The driver of the Toyota Tundra stayed at the scene while investigators mapped out the point of impact.
Horry County authorities spent hours working the stretch of Highway 501 to determine how the bike and the truck collided on that Wednesday afternoon. Traffic was delayed while crews cleared the wreckage and swept debris off the asphalt.
For the community back home in Murrells Inlet, the news of Goodman’s death hit hard. At just 21 years old, his sudden loss leaves family members and neighbors grieving a life cut far too short along a familiar local highway.
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