More than 2 months after deadly crash, Hilton Head woman charged with reckless homicide

More than two months after a crash on U.S. 278 that killed a Bluffton woman, a Hilton Head Island woman has been charged in connection to the death.

Letitia Satchell, 40, was charged with reckless homicide Wednesday after the Aug. 13 crash that killed 61-year-old Eun Bu Kim on U.S. 278 near Island West Drive, according to a Bluffton Police Department report.

Vehicles driven by Kim and Satchell collided near Hampton Parkway around 8:30 a.m..

Kim was turning left onto westbound U.S. 278 at the traffic light between Hampton Parkway and Island West Drive when Satchell, who was traveling east, disregarded a red light and struck Kim’s vehicle, the report said.

Kim died at the scene and Satchell was taken to the hospital with injuries. On Wednesday, Bluffton police met with Satchell, who said she was unaware there was a warrant out for her arrest.

Satchell told police that on the day of the crash, she was coming home from Walterboro where she worked as a nurse and had not consumed alcohol or taken any medication other than Tylenol before she drove.

When asked if she remembered the crash, Satchell said “not really,” the report said.

Officers informed Satchell that she had been traveling at 68 mph in a 55 mph zone at the time of the crash. Investigators were able to determine her speed from her vehicle’s data recorder.

She was taken to the Beaufort County Detention Center where she was released on Thursday on personal recognizance after she was assigned a $100,000 bond, according to detention center and Beaufort County Court records.

This story was originally published October 27, 2017 at 1:59 PM with the headline "More than 2 months after deadly crash, Hilton Head woman charged with reckless homicide."