Police: Driver who crashed through Bluffton gym blacked out, didn’t have license

A 48-year-old Bluffton woman was cited for driving without a license after she allegedly lost consciousness and drove through a Bluffton apartment complex gym Tuesday night, striking and injuring two people inside.

The driver, who lives in the complex, apparently lost consciousness and appears to have driven from a parking lot across a tennis court and pool area and through the gym. The vehicle only came to a stop when it exited the gym and struck a palm tree that was wedged beneath it.

The 2002 Hyundai SUV crashed through the Avalon Shores fitness center around 7:40 p.m., according to Lance Cpl. Matthew Southern of the S.C. Highway Patrol.

Two men were inside the gym at the time of the incident, Southern said. Specifics on their injuries were not listed in the Highway Patrol’s report, but a trooper did write “possible injuries,” Southern said.

One of the men was taken to Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah by EMS and the other was driven to a hospital by a friend, Southern said.

The driver was not injured or taken to a hospital. She was issued a ticket after investigators learned her driver’s license number was issued for a beginner’s permit that expired in 2002, Southern said.

Kaylee Gardener, property manager for Avalon Shores said Wednesday morning that staff are trying to figure out everything that transpired, and that plans are in place for everything to be “back up and running soon.”

Gardener did not have a specific time line for when operations would be fully functional.

This story was originally published January 31, 2018 at 10:27 AM with the headline "Police: Driver who crashed through Bluffton gym blacked out, didn’t have license."