Crash that killed Hilton Head businessman still under investigation, Highway Patrol says
The crash involving prominent Hilton Head Island businessman, who was walking in the road and fatally struck by a car last Sunday, is still under investigation and was not a hit-and-run, according to state police.
Andrew Farbman, 62, of Hilton Head, who owned Amigos Café y Cantina in Bluffton and started the restaurant on Hilton Head, died from his injuries after being hit by a sedan on Spanish Wells Road after 7 p.m.
S.C. Highway Patrol spokesperson Nick Pye said the agency couldn’t release any details about the investigation, including whether there may be criminal charges or why Farbman was in the road.
Multiple police sources consulted by the Island Packet & Beaufort Gazette confirmed Farbman ran into the road chasing after his dog which had gotten loose. He was struck on Spanish Wells Road. The sources told the newspapers on the condition of anonymity.
The only things S.C. Highway Patrol would confirm is that the crash was not a hit-and-run, and it is still under investigation, according to Pye. No charges have been filed.
The Multi-disciplinary Accident Investigation Team is investigating, Pye said. The MAIT team reconstructs crashes and creates a report after collecting forensics from the scene, analyzing car data on speed, and interviewing witnesses.
John O’Gorman Jr., a friend of Farbman and owner of Okatie Alehouse, previously told the Island Packet newspaper he had been with Farbman two hours before the crash occurred. It was the last day of the RBC Heritage Presented By Boeing golf tournament in Sea Pines.
“I had just been hanging out with Andrew ... at Heritage [on Sunday],” O’Gorman said. “We were hanging out, having a beer and his wife was trying to get everyone to shush for the golfers and we were laughing at her.”
An Island Packet reporter reached out to the Farbman family Friday and did not get a response.
Farbman was a good friend and very personable, O’Gorman said.
“If you bellied up at the bar for the best fish tacos in town, he would just enthrall you in conversation until you were ready to leave,” O’Gorman said. “He was a great conversationalist and could talk about anything.”
This story was originally published April 22, 2022 at 2:12 PM.
