Coroner identifies victim of Monday’s deadly pileup on 278 in Bluffton
Juan Tahual-Lopez, a 43-year-old man from Beaufort, has been identified by the Beaufort County Coroner’s Office as the victim in Monday’s deadly six-vehicle collision on U.S. 278 in Bluffton. He was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after the crash as a result of blunt force injuries he sustained.
According to social media posts, Tahual-Lopez was a father of four daughters, a pillar of his family and a hardworking man with great dedication to providing a better life for his loved ones.
Tahual-Lopez was not the driver who initiated the crash, according to a report from the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
The crash happened around 12:30 p.m. at the intersection of U.S. 278 and White Oak Circle. Six vehicles were involved, according to Trooper Nick Pye of the South Carolina Highway Patrol, who described the circumstances of the collision in a Monday press release.
Three of the vehicles — a 2019 Ford pickup truck, a 2015 Lexus sedan and a 2017 Toyota pickup truck — were heading west toward Bluffton at the time of the accident, according to Pye. The other three vehicles involved, a 2019 Nissan sedan, a 2006 Chevrolet pickup truck and a 2024 Toyota van were traveling east toward Hilton Head Island.
The Ford pickup struck the other two westbound vehicles and then traveled left of center, merging into oncoming traffic, Pye said, where it struck the eastbound Nissan and Chevrolet. Tahual-Lopez was the driver and sole occupant of the Chevrolet truck.
There were a total of 10 occupants in the six cars involved in the collision. Three people were transported to a local hospital with injuries, said Pye.
Monday’s fatal collision shut down all eastbound lanes of U.S. 278 in the area until about 5:15 p.m., when authorities finished their processing of the crash site. Drivers were asked to use Buckwalter Parkway as an alternate route.
A total of 26 people were killed on Beaufort County roadways in 2024. The most commonly cited factors behind the year’s fatal crashes were drivers running off the road, exceeding the speed limit and traveling on the wrong side of the street, according to data from the South Carolina Department of Public Safety.
This story was originally published May 20, 2025 at 4:58 PM.
