Driver in Lexington school bus and motorcycle crash faces more charges, ICE detainment (2024)

LEXINGTON — The driver accused of crashing into a school bus and a motorcycle, killing the motorcyclist, is facing additional charges for the incident as well as an immigration detainment order.

Just after 7 a.m. on May 20, a school bus stopped to pick up students for the Lexington County School District One. A motorcyclist stopped behind.

Giovanni Mendoza-Jimenez, a 20-year-old Mexico native and West Columbia resident, was driving down Industrial Drive when he struck the motorcycle, pinning the rider between the van and the bus, according to the Lexington Police Department.

The motorcyclist, 45-year-old Jon Douglas Ratcliffe, died at the scene. He was wearing a helmet, according to Lexington Coroner Margaret Fisher.

Seven students students were on the bus during the crash. One student was taken to the hospital for a cut on his arm. The others were taken home by parents and guardians.

Mendoza-Jimenez was taken to the hospital for minor injuries and later transported to the Lexington County Detention Center for driving without a driver’s license. The following day, he was charged with driving too fast for conditions and failure to stop for a school bus.

The police department has obtained search warrants for vehicle data in the work van and the driver’s cellphone to determine if additional charges should be pressed.

To charge Mendoza-Jimenez with vehicular homicide, there needs to be evidence that he was driving with a reckless disregard for the safety of others.

The posted speed limit in the area is 45 mph. Investigators are waiting for data from the search warrants to determine if Mendoza-Jimenez was speeding and if he was distracted by his cellphone. According to police, it could take weeks to months to obtain the data from the devices.

A detainment order was placed on Mendoza-Jimenez for his unlawful immigration status in the United States.

The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, which runs the county jail, is one of three counties in South Carolina that participates in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s 287(g) program.

Sheriff departments in Lexington, Horry and York counties participate in the program’s “Jail Enforcement Model,” which is “is designed to identify and process removable noncitizens — with criminal or pending criminal charges — who are arrested by state or local law enforcement agencies.”

After Mendoza-Jimenez posts bond, he will be turned over to ICE.