Lexington police officers arrest driver of work van after hitting a motorcyclist and pushing him into the back of a school bus killing him

Lexington, SC 05/20/2024 (Paul Kirby) – The Lexington Police Department has arrested the driver of a work van that slammed into a motorcycle and pushed it into the rear of a Lexington County School District One bus killing the motorcyclist. The driver of the van, Giovanni Mendoza Jimenez, 20, of West Columbia has been charged with driving without a license but police say other charges are forthcoming according to Lexington Police Chief Terrance Green.

 Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher has now released the name of the deceased motorcyclist. He was Jon Douglas Ratcliffe, 45, of Lexington.

According to accident investigators, all three of the vehicles were traveling westbound on Industrial Drive when Ratcliffe stopped behind a school bus. The work van driven by Jimenez struck the rear of the motorcycle and the stopped school bus.

Coroner Fisher said that Ratcliffe, who was wearing a helmet, was pronounced dead on scene due to the injuries sustained in the collision. One child who was on the bus was transported to an area hospital with minor injuries. Jimenez was also transported to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The Lexington County Coroner’s Office, the Lexington Police Department, as well as the South Carolina Department of Public Safety MAIT continue to investigate the incident.