Animal Shelter employee shot in suspected road-rage incident; provided details before death

A 21-year-old Hilton Head Island man died early Wednesday after being shot in what the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office is calling a road-rage incident on the island Tuesday evening.

Rhashard Spikes, 21, was pronounced dead just after midnight after he was flown to Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah.

Spikes, an employee of the Beaufort County Animal Shelter, was shot around 9 p.m. in the U.S. 278 and Southwood Park Drive area near The Oaks Apartments, according to a Sheriff's Office news release.

Before his death, Spikes told investigators he was driving a Dodge Dart with two passengers east on U.S. 278 when a small, silver-colored vehicle with tinted windows traveling in the opposite direction veered into his lane. Capt. Bob Bromage of the Sheriff's Office said Wednesday the vehicle was possibly a Toyota.

Spikes was able to avoid a collision, the release said, and yelled out the window at the other driver.

As Spikes continued driving, he and his passengers noticed the same vehicle behind them in the left lane, speeding up to catch them.

At least two shots rang out from that vehicle, according to the release, before it sped away.

Bromage said the sheriff's office knows Rhashard was struck at least once, but an autopsy scheduled for today at the Medical University of South Carolina could reveal another injury.

A wounded Spikes pulled over into a Speedway gas station parking lot, where deputies and emergency personnel found him.

The Sheriff's Office does not have a description of the driver or the passengers in the suspect vehicle, the release said.

The investigation is being handled by the Sheriff's Office, and Spikes' passengers have been interviewed by officials, Bromage said. The details of the interviews are not available, Bromage said.

A statement released by Beaufort County Animal Services Wednesday said: "Rhashard Spikes was a wonderful employee and friend who understood the meaning of the word 'team.' He made many great contributions to us and Beaufort County. He will be greatly missed and we are devastated by his death. Rhashard will be remembered by the staff for his contagious smile and exuberance for life."

Animal services director Tallulah Trice declined further comment.

Attempts to reach county administrator Gary Kubic, county public information officer Joy Nelson, and assistant county administrator for community engagement and outreach Monica Spells for comment were unsuccessful.

Tuesday's fatal shooting was the second homicide on Hilton Head this year and the fourth in southern Beaufort County out of a total of nine murders in 2015.

Spikes' death comes just over two weeks after Dominique Williams, 17, was shot to death near the Coligny Beach Park water fountain July 19, alleged by a 15-year-old suspect with whom he had fought the day before.

That suspect is being held at a SC department juvenile justice facility in Columbia. He could be tried as an adult, Solicitor Duffie Stone has said.

Though Bromage said road rage incidents reported to the Sheriff's Office are not common, other instances have happened in the area.

In June 2013, a man allegedly pointed a gun at another driver in Burton. That suspect was never found.

A similar incident occurred in November 2011 when a Hilton Head Island man was charged with pointing and presenting a firearm at another driver near the island's toll plaza.

Follow Caitlin Turner on Twitter at twitter.com/Cait_E_Turner.

This story was originally published August 5, 2015 at 11:34 AM with the headline "Animal Shelter employee shot in suspected road-rage incident; provided details before death."