WMBFNews.com | Myrtle Beach/Florence, SC | News, Weather, SportsMemorial to be held for student killed in motorcycle crash

Memorial to be held for student killed in motorcycle crash

By Kyle Grainger - bio | email

MYRTLE BEACH, SC  (WMBF) –  An 18-year-old Myrtle Beach student was killed Monday morning when his motorcycle collided with a school bus.

Officials with the South Carolina Highway Patrol say the crash occurred just after 8 a.m. when the bus and motorcycle were turning onto the SC-31 North ramp in Myrtle Beach. The driver of the motorcycle, identified by Horry County Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard as 18-year-old Marc Chaplin, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Horry County School District spokewoman Teal Britton says Chaplin was a pre-engineering student at the Academy of Arts, Science and Technology. His base school was Myrtle Beach High School.

The crash occurred as the bus and motorcycle were turning onto the SC-31 ramp in Myrtle Beach around 8 a.m. Monday. There were no students on the bus, and the driver was treated at the scene. Officials say the motorcyclist died at the scene.

"[The mother] was very, very distraught. [She] had a lot of hopes for this young man," said Dr. Cindy Elsberry, superintendent of Schools in Horry County.

Elsberry says she's learned that Chaplin was a good student who had a lot of goals and ambition. 

She says grief counselors were on hand at both Myrtle Beach High and the Academy for Arts, Science and Technology Monday to help students deal with what happened, giving them a place to talk about it.

"Letting them talk, letting them cry, and get their feelings out, that's real important that they don't bottle it up," added Elsberry. "They actually express that to someone so that they can cope better with what they're feeling."

The SCHP says they've called in their special accident reconstruction team to help piece together details of the accident.

Britton says the bus driver has been with the district for four years and was given a drug test after the accident. She says it's standard protocol when there's an accident involving death with a school bus.

A memorial service is planned for Chaplin at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the Academy of Art, Science and Technology.

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