Bluffton woman charged with DUI after crash and taken to jail. 4 days later she died
A Bluffton woman arrested in a DUI crash and taken to jail last week died four days later from a head injury believed to be sustained from the crash, according to authorities.
Leah Dubs, 41, of Bluffton died around 3:15 p.m. at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston on Aug. 5, according to Beaufort County Coroner David Ott.
Ott said her head injury was believed to be related to the head-on collision after which she was arrested, but an autopsy for Dubs will take place on Thursday at MUSC to investigate the death further.
On Aug. 1, Dubs was involved in the crash on Red Cedar Street around 2 p.m. The Bluffton Police Department responded, then charged Dubs with driving under the influence and child endangerment.
The crash is still under investigation, the police department said. Lt. Christian Gonzalez said no basic information will be released until the agency’s report on the crash is finalized.
After the crash, Bluffton Police took Dubs to the Beaufort County Detention Center. A nurse at the jail determined Dubs needed to go to the hospital, according to Beaufort County spokesperson Chris Ophardt. The county runs the jail.
Ophardt said that staff at the emergency room at Beaufort Memorial Hospital cleared Dubs, and she returned to the jail.
At 7:30 a.m. the following morning, however, a jail guard found Dubs on the floor of the holding cell and discovered she was coughing up blood, according to Ott.
Dubs was taken to Beaufort Memorial Hospital then airlifted to MUSC in Charleston, where she later died.
Asked about the initial visit to the ER and if the incident was under review, Beaufort Memorial Hospital declined to comment.
“We cannot comment on this (or any) patient’s visit,” hospital spokesperson Courtney McDermott wrote in a text message.
The Beaufort County Detention Center is not investigating Dubs’ death, Ophardt said. Her death is not recorded as a jail death because she died outside of the facility.
