Coworkers were celebrating on Beaufort Co. sandbar when man fatally dove off boat

A group of coworkers were having a work related party on the Paulkie Island Sandbar in Beaufort County when a man fatally dove from a boat, A Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report states.

John Elledge, 61, of Simpsonville died as a result of the injuries at Beaufort Memorial Hospital at 11:22 p.m. Saturday, Beaufort County Coroner David Ott said Sunday.

Ott said Elledge possibly struck his head on the bottom during the dive at about 4 p.m.

The S.C. Department of Natural Resources is investigating the fatality, Ott said.

The Sheriff’s Office report states several coworkers were staying a nearby home. Elledge jumped from the boat and returned to the water’s surface face down.

CPR was started on the man within about 40 seconds of the victim hitting the water, the report states. He was placed on a boat and taken to a community dock in the area.

Coworkers continued CPR on the man until EMS arrived and transported him to the hospital.

Elledge was one of three fatalities from accidents in Beaufort County during a 24-hour-period.

A 25-year-old Hilton Head Island man was fatally injured in an early morning accident Sunday on Hilton Head Island. Another accident in Bluffton Sunday morning killed a 22-year-old Hilton Head man.

This story was originally published July 29, 2018 at 1:19 PM.