Driver survived Beaufort County bridge crash that killed pregnant mother, 3 sons
One person survived after a car went off a Beaufort County bridge and four of the vehicle’s occupants, including three children, were killed on Saturday morning, according to authorities.
The driver of the vehicle that went off the J.E. McTeer Bridge between Port Royal and Lady’s Island Saturday survived the crash and the plunge into the water, according to Beaufort County Chief Deputy Coroner David Ott.
Burton residents Tikia Lashay Doe, 36, Jashawn Hawkins, 16, Alonzo Houston, 6, and Cameron Perry, 3, were pronounced dead at the scene, Beaufort County Coroner Ed Allen said in a Sheriff’s Office release.
Doe was eight months pregnant, according to a Beaufort Police Department report.
After 11 a.m. on Saturday, three cars traveling across the McTeer bridge toward Lady’s Island were involved in a crash that sent a Dodge Caravan “with a family of five over the side of the bridge into the water,” according to a news release from the Port Royal Police Department received on Monday.
The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, its dive team, and boat teams with the Port Royal Police Department, U.S. Coast Guard, Parris Island Fire Department and Beaufort Water Search and Rescue responded to the site. Swimmers from the Parris Island boats pulled the people from the vehicle, Beaufort Water Search and Rescue skipper Clay Emminger said.
A tow boat in the area when the emergency broadcast went over the radio picked up the surviving person before other emergency crews arrived, Emminger said. The vehicle was in the marsh on the Lady’s Island side and had been submerged in about seven to nine feet of water because of the high tide, he said.
Emergency crews and volunteers returned later at low tide and a crane lifted the vehicle from the marsh.
The time of death of the family was 11:17 a.m., said Allen with the coroner’s office. An autopsy Monday showed all four died by drowning, Deputy Coroner David Ott said.
Jashawn was a 10th grade student at Battery Creek High School, and Alonzo was in first grade at Robert Smalls International Academy, Beaufort County School District spokeswoman Candace Bruder said.
Battery Creek planned to send letters to home to parents Monday, principal Chad Cox said in a video on the school’s Facebook page. An online Zoom meeting was set up with the guidance department for any teachers and students who needed support, Cox said.
“It was absolutely horrific; it’s just terrible,” Cox said in the video. “Just please keep their family in your thoughts and prayers. ...We’ll do everything we can at Battery Creek to support the family during this time.”
The Port Royal Police Department is the lead agency investigating the incident with the help of S.C. Highway Patrol.
Port Royal Police Maj. Ron Wekenmann declined comment Monday and said an incident report wouldn’t be available for days, citing an active investigation.
The driver of a Ford F-150 involved in the crash was transported to Beaufort Memorial Hospital with minor injuries and was later released. The other driver of a Chevrolet Malibu also involved was uninjured and released at the scene, according to the Port Royal Police Department.
Wekenmann said that anyone with information on the incident is encouraged to contact Detective Jason Boggess at jboggess@portroyal.org.
This story was originally published September 21, 2020 at 10:51 AM.
