Covington resident Timothy Lee Carithers was killed early this morning after he was struck by vehicle on U.S. Highway 278.

Carithers, 54, was driving an electric mobility wheelchair, a Lil Rascal, eastbound on U.S. 278 around 12:10 a.m. when he was hit from behind by a Honda Civic near the intersection with Cook Street, according to Georgia State Patrol spokesman Gordy Wright.

"The chair had no lights or reflective tape and belonged to the victim's mother," Wright said in an email. "He was in the travel lane eastbound when the collision occurred.

"The wheelchair belonged to his mother, and, in interviews the trooper conducted overnight, it appears he was using it for a recreational use rather than a medical need. The trooper said information he gathered was that the victim normally walked. The trooper believes he was going to visit friends."

Newton County Coroner Tommy Davis said it appeared the man was heading back to his Adams Street home. After the crash, he was transported to Newton Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, Davis said.

The 27-year-old driver, also from Covington, was not injured and no charges have yet been filed, though the crash remains under investigation, Wright said.