Bluffton man charged with felony DUI after fatal 4-vehicle crash on Buckwalter Parkway
An alleged drunk driver from Bluffton has been arrested following a fatal four-car accident on Buckwalter Pkwy earlier this month, according to the SC Highway Patrol.
39-year-old Carlos Acosta-Galvez was charged Aug. 16 with felony DUI resulting in death and driving without a license, jail records show. He was denied bond the following morning and remains in custody at the Beaufort County Detention Center as of Wednesday morning.
Just after 7 p.m. on Aug. 6, Acosta-Galvez was driving east on U.S. 278 when his four-door Toyota collided with a Mercedes SUV and a motorcycle that were turning onto the highway from Buckwalter Pkwy, which caused the motorcycle to crash into a Chevy SUV. The motorcyclist, 54-year-old Ridgeland man Marc Garrity, was pronounced dead of the scene of the crash. He was not wearing a helmet.
Acosta-Galvez was not given a breath sample after the crash because he was one of two people taken to Savannah’s Memorial Health University Medical Center with injuries, said Lance Cpl. Nick Pye of the SC Highway Patrol. Acosta-Galvez was arrested and taken to jail following his discharge from the hospital. South Carolina’s implied consent laws allow arresting officers access to the results of blood alcohol tests taken at the hospital, even when a DUI suspect is incapable of submitting to a Breathalyzer test.
No other details about the crash are available, Pye said. The accident remains under investigation by Highway Patrol and the Beaufort County Coroner’s Office.
If convicted of DUI resulting in death, Acosta-Galvez would face one to 25 years in prison and a mandatory fine ranging from $10,100 to $25,100, according to South Carolina law.
This story was originally published August 23, 2023 at 8:29 AM.
