Hilton Head hit-and-run leaves NC State student with traumatic brain injury
Donors have raised thousands of dollars for a college student who was seriously hurt in a hit-and-run while walking with his friends on Hilton Head Island last weekend.
Brayden Bulger, 20, a sophomore at North Carolina State University, remains hospitalized with a traumatic brain injury and “other serious injuries” from the collision early Sunday morning, according to a GoFundMe account that says it is raising money for his recovery.
The online fundraiser had raised over $48,000 of its $55,000 goal as of Thursday afternoon, three days after it was organized.
Bulger’s friends told WTOC 11 they were walking across U.S. 278 (Palmetto Bay Road) around 1:30 a.m. Sunday when the collision’s impact sent Bulger, a sophomore finance major at N.C. State University in Raleigh, N.C., skidding 10 to 15 feet across the pavement. The driver then sped out of sight, they said.
“We ran to him ... his face was all bloody ... it was pretty rough,” Bulger’s friend Jake Glen told the station.
Bulger’s friends and fraternity brothers at NC State described him as a sharp student, an upbeat personality and a beloved figure in their Sigma Phi Epsilon chapter, according to WTOC.
Police release video of suspected driver’s vehicle
The afternoon after the collision, state troopers released a flier with a screenshot from surveillance video showing what they believed to be the suspect vehicle.
The hit-and-run suspect was believed to be driving a silver or gray SUV that should have damage to its front, hood and windshield. It was last seen traveling west on U.S. 278, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
North Street Beer Station, a bar in Raleigh that called Bulger “part of our team” on social media, announced it would host an event Friday to raise funds for the student’s recovery.
“We’ll be starting at 5 PM, and a portion of sales throughout the day and night will go toward Brayden, with ways to help all night,” read the bar’s post on Facebook.
Anyone with information about this collision is encouraged to submit a tip by calling SCHP at 843-661-4705.
How to donate to GoFundMe for Brayden Bulger
This story was originally published April 16, 2026 at 2:45 PM.
