St. Helena man arrested for fatal DUI after crash kills his passenger
One person died in a single-vehicle collision Sunday morning after the driver of the vehicle struck a tree.
Jose Cruz Castillo, 22, of St. Helena, was driving his Ford F150 south on County Shed Road with a passenger, 28-year-old Francisco Galnarez Garcia, also of St. Helena.
At around 7:17 a.m., Castillo veered off the right side of the road and struck a tree west of the City of Beaufort near the Home2 Suites by Hilton.
Garcia died at the scene from blunt force trauma. Castillo was taken to Beaufort Memorial Hospital for his injuries. Castillo was determined to be under the influence and subsequently was arrested by the South Carolina Highway Patrol for fatal DUI and hit-and-run, the agency said. Test results to determine the substance that may have been involved of are still pending.
When a deputy from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office made contact with Cruz he was “walking in the wooded area to the right of the vehicle collision,” according to the police report.
A preliminary hearing for Hernandez-Castillo is scheduled for Friday in Beaufort Magistrate Court.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
