She tried to stop him from driving drunk and was beaten in return

A Hilton Head Island man was charged with third-degree assault and battery and public disorderly conduct Monday evening after Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office deputies found a woman with a swollen eye and scratches at Coligny Beach Park.

The incident was reported a little after 9 p.m. after a witness called 911 to report a man yelling at a woman in the parking lot and threatening to choke her, according to a Sheriff’s Office report.

The woman told the responding deputy that she had been trying to get the man home when he became “irate” with her and punched her repeatedly before she was able to grab his car keys.

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The deputy noted in the report that the woman had a swollen eye and two scratches on her back.

The man was charged with the two misdemeanors and taken to the Beaufort County Detention Center.

This story was originally published July 25, 2017 at 6:34 PM with the headline "She tried to stop him from driving drunk and was beaten in return."