Coroner identifies 2 Bluffton men killed in Sunday collision with tree on May River Rd
Two of three people involved in a single-car crash on May River Road early Sunday morning have died, including 29-year-old driver Yerson Josue Ramirez and 35-year-old backseat passenger Mario Eduardo Membreno-Elvir, both of Bluffton. A third passenger with life-threatening injuries was trapped inside the vehicle and had to be removed by firefighters before being taken to the hospital.
Traveling east on May River Road near Linden Park Drive, Ramirez’s 2023 Toyota SUV veered left and struck a tree around 4:17 a.m. Sunday, according to Lance Cpl. Brittany Glover of the SC Highway Patrol. Ramirez and Membreno-Elvir, who were both not wearing seatbelts, were ejected from the vehicle, said Beaufort County Coroner David Ott.
Ramirez was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash around 4:20 a.m., with a cause of death believed to be full-body blunt force trauma. Membreno-Elvir was taken to Coastal Carolina Hospital, where he died around 5 a.m. of blunt force trauma to the head, Ott said.
The condition of the third passenger, who was taken Sunday morning to Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, is not available.
Autopsies will not be performed for the two men, Ott told The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette.
A small bouquet of sunflowers could be seen tied to a nearby tree Monday morning in an apparent tribute to the lives lost in the crash.
This story was originally published June 12, 2023 at 5:30 PM.
