Woman airlifted with severe head trauma after Old Town Bluffton golf cart accident

A woman was flown to Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah Friday night after she fell from a golf cart in Old Town Bluffton and suffered "severe head trauma," according to a Beaufort County Sheriff's Office report.

The incident was reported around 9:15 p.m. on Pine Island Road.

The driver of the golf cart, the woman's husband, told a deputy that he and his wife were driving back from Old Town and that they had both been drinking.

The man said he turned off of Pine Island Road into a private driveway and that he didn't slow down to make the turn.

The speed caused his wife to fall from the golf cart and hit her head on the driveway, the report said.

"(The man) said she struck her head on the driveway when she fell and immediately went unconscious, and her breathing became shallow," the report said.

Members of the Bluffton Township Fire District and Beaufort County EMS also responded to the scene and requested a helicopter to take the victim to the hospital "due to severe head trauma," the report said.

The Sheriff's Office requested the S.C. Highway Patrol to respond and investigate the incident.

In 2016, Gov. Nikki Haley signed a bill into law that made it legal for golf cart drivers to use local roads at night. The bill was co-sponsored by S.C. Rep. Bill Herbkersman of Bluffton.

A call to the Savannah hospital to inquire about the woman's condition was not immediately returned.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

This story was originally published May 15, 2018 at 4:09 PM with the headline "Woman airlifted with severe head trauma after Old Town Bluffton golf cart accident."