Socastee bar owner hit, killed in December was ‘illegally lying in roadway,’ state authorities say
SOCASTEE, S.C. (WBTW) — The owner of a popular Socastee bar who was hit and killed by a vehicle in December was “illegally lying in the roadway” and not under the influence of any substances at the time of his death, according to state authorities.
News13 obtained the information Tuesday through a Freedom of Information Act request submitted four months ago to the state Department of Public Safety.
Joshua Macnaught, 51, died at the scene of after being hit by a car on Highway 707 near Brandymill Boulevard as he tried to cross Socastee Boulevard around 7 p.m. on Dec. 5.
Investigators said the driver who struck Macnaught wasn’t at fault, according to the traffic report.
Family and friends told News13 in the days after Macnaught’s death that his pleasant personality made him very popular among those who knew him.
“He was so nice and easy going. Just a nice person, you know? Just hard to believe,” Macanught’s neighbor Merlin Owens said.
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Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here.
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