Argument with girlfriend leads to man’s assault by strangers, fractured jaw

A man who argued with his girlfriend in a Hilton Head Island park late Wednesday was attacked by a group of strangers who yelled “you can’t treat a lady like this” before fracturing his jaw.

The man told his story to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s deputy Thursday morning at Hilton Head Hospital, where he’d gone for treatment.

The man said he and his girlfriend had been living together in his truck for around a week following their eviction from their home. He said they began to argue about their relationship and a number of upcoming court cases both were involved in as they drove around the island about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report.

When the argument grew heated, the man pulled into Green Shell Park on Squire Pope Road to continue the discussion.

The argument escalated, and the man started to drive out of the park, he said. When the truck neared the park entrance, his girlfriend leapt out and ran across Squire Pope Road, the report said.

The man stopped the truck, got out and shouted to her to come back.

That’s when a group of men emerged from out of “nowhere.” One of them yelled, “You don’t treat a lady like this,” before the group attacked, the report said.

The man said the assailants punched, kicked and stomped him as he laid on the ground trying to protect himself.

He was unable to give the deputy a description of the men but said they were driving a black Dodge Magnum with red flame accents on the vehicle’s front quarter panel, the report said.

The man said he blacked out for approximately two hours. When he awoke, the men where gone, as was his girlfriend. His truck was still parked near him, and nothing was reported stolen.

He drove himself to the hospital for treatment of a fractured jaw and other injuries to his face and left side, the report said.

He also told deputies he believed his girlfriend had either left with the men who attacked him or gone to stay with friends. The deputy attempted to call her several times and could not reach her, the report said.

This story was originally published April 15, 2016 at 3:16 PM with the headline "Argument with girlfriend leads to man’s assault by strangers, fractured jaw."