Deadly Bluffton intersection may be renamed for young mom, unborn child who died there

The flashing yellow left turn signal from westbound U.S. 278 onto Buck Island Road has been eliminated after a Beaufort County push to make the Bluffton intersection safer following the July 26 death of a Hilton Head Island Elementary teacher and her unborn child.

Beaufort County Councilman Michael Covert said Jesse Floyd’s death spurred him to action within 24 hours of the crash.

“I was torn about (Floyd’s death); the community was torn about it,” Covert said. “One of my daughters had a wreck at that intersection.”

Covert said he has asked that the intersection be renamed in honor of Floyd and her child.

The light was changed Wednesday morning after the S.C. Department of Transportation was notified that the county would be converting the signal, according to Pete Poore, director of communications for SCDOT.

“SCDOT supports the decision by the county,” Poore said.

Now drivers must have a solid green arrow before being allowed to make the turn.

Though SCDOT manages the intersection, the design and decision to change the flashing yellow signal to a red and green light was made by the county, Poore said on Thursday.

Two calls and an email to the Beaufort County Traffic and Engineering Department to inquire about the design of the intersection were not returned on Thursday.

Covert said he reached out to two SCDOT commissioners and Sen. Tom Davis about the need for an investigation into the signal and speed at the intersection.

“My tone was what some people would call flavorful, because I get tired of the bureaucracy, and it’s time somebody stands up and makes a point,” Covert said.

Floyd, 27, died following a crash at the intersection. She was the passenger in an SUV driven by her husband that was one of two vehicles that struck a third vehicle that stalled while turning at the light from U.S. 278 onto Buck Island Road.

She was 26 weeks pregnant at the time of the crash and was set to start as a second-grade teacher at Hilton Head Island Elementary. Her husband, Ryan Floyd, suffered head lacerations and a broken ankle.

Following the crash, several residents expressed concern on social media about the signals at the intersection.

Covert said that he has spoken via email with Ryan Floyd since the crash. Floyd asked Covert if there was anything Floyd could do to ensure that his wife and unborn son’s death would not be in vain.

In response, Covert asked Davis to help name the intersection the Jesse and Eli Floyd Memorial Intersection. That request, he said, has been taken by Davis to the Senate Transportation Committee for approval.

“That’s the least that we can do to memorialize what a great lady she was,” Covert said of Jesse Floyd. “The biggest thing is to get this intersection fixed so we don’t have this problem again.”

Davis said that the request to name the intersection may take time to be approved since the Senate does not go into session until January.

“Just based on what happened and based on what I take to be the wishes of the widowed father, I think (the delegation) would be in agreement that this would be a good idea as well,” Davis said about the intersection name change proposal.

This story was originally published August 3, 2017 at 9:03 AM with the headline "Deadly Bluffton intersection may be renamed for young mom, unborn child who died there."