A woman hit by a car in downtown Beaufort was stuck underneath, sent to the hospital
A 42-year-old woman was struck by a car in downtown Beaufort just after 10:30 a.m. Monday, according to the Beaufort Police Department.
The woman was crossing the roadway in a crosswalk when she was hit by a 75-year-old woman driving a Mercedes E350, police spokeswoman Sgt. Hope Able said. The driver was traveling west down Craven Street and turned onto Charles Street where she struck the woman.
A video submitted to The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette showed emergency personnel working to free the victim from underneath the car. Able said the police department did not have any information on how long the woman was trapped under the vehicle.
The victim was taken to Beaufort Memorial Hospital by Beaufort County EMS with “obvious injuries,” Able said. Police did not know how long the woman had been trapped under the car.
Beaufort-Port Royal Fire Department and Burton Fire Department “used an air bag system and vehicle stabilization equipment to lift the vehicle and free the occupant from underneath,” according to a Facebook post the first department made around 6:15 p.m. Beaufort-Port Royal Fire Department could not be reached by phone for additional comment on Monday.
Burton Fire District helped with the rescue “due to the close proximity of the nearest fire engine,” district spokesman Lt. Dan Byrne said Monday night. “She appeared to have serious injuries.”
The driver was issued a traffic citation for failure to yield to a pedestrian, but no criminal charges were filed or pending Monday afternoon, Able said.
The police department did not release the names of the women involved, though one of them is a Beaufort resident, Able said. No update was available on the victim’s condition and no further information was available on her injuries late Monday afternoon.
Joan McDonough: 843-706-8125, @IPBG_Joan
This story was originally published January 22, 2018 at 2:01 PM with the headline "A woman hit by a car in downtown Beaufort was stuck underneath, sent to the hospital."