Motorcycle rider ejected and killed after deer collision in Burke County

Barton Weitzel, pictured, was killed Monday after colliding with a deer while on his motorcycle. (Photo illustration of wreck/victim picture from LinkedIn)

Date: September 16, 2025

A Waynesboro man was killed Monday morning in a tragic collision involving a deer and a motorcycle on Highway 23, according to the Burke County Sheriff’s Office.

The crash occurred around 6:27 a.m. between Jack Delaigle Road and Hancock Landing Road, when a large deer entered the roadway from the south shoulder and struck a westbound motorcycle.

Deputies say the impact caused the motorcycle’s driver, identified as Barton Andrew Weitzel, 59, to lose control and be ejected onto the roadway. Weitzel was then struck by a pickup truck also traveling westbound. He was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

The driver of the pickup truck, Kirk Brigham, 60, of Girard, was not injured.

In a statement, the Burke County Sheriff’s Office extended condolences to Weitzel’s family and friends, calling it “a difficult time” for the community.

The incident remains under investigation by the agency’s Traffic Division.

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The Author

Greg Rickabaugh is an award-winning crime reporter in the Augusta-Aiken area with experience writing for The Augusta Chronicle and serving as publisher of The Jail Report. He also owns AugustaCrime.com. Rickabaugh is a 1994 graduate of the University of South Carolina and has appeared on several crime documentaries on the Investigation Discovery channel. He is married with two daughters.

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