Bluffton woman charged with drunk driving, 5 hospitalized after crash on US 278
A 51-year-old Bluffton woman was arrested and five people were injured Tuesday night after a two-vehicle collision on U.S. 278, according to Bluffton officials.
The crash occurred just before 11 p.m. at the intersection of U.S 278 and Buck Island Road, according to a Bluffton Police Department report.
When officers arrived at the scene and met with the “driver at fault,” she smelled of alcohol, had glassy and bloodshot eyes, and was slurring her words, the report said.
She originally told police she had not had any alcoholic drinks, but later “admitted to drinking at a bar after an event she had for work,” the report said.
After failing a battery of tests, she was charged with driving under the influence and booked into the Beaufort County Detention Center, according to the report.
She was released Wednesday morning, the jail log says.
Five people were transported to a nearby hospital with what appeared to be non-life threatening injuries, Capt. Lee Levesque of the Bluffton Township Fire District said late Tuesday night.
Details about the how the crash occurred were not immediately available.
The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette do not typically name those charged with misdemeanor crimes unless they are in a position of public trust or authority in the community.
This story was originally published March 13, 2019 at 2:29 PM.
