Mom seeks payout after daughter beaten with Stanley cup on Beaufort Co. school bus
A Bluffton mother is seeking a payout from the local school district after her middle school daughter was beaten with a Stanley Cup during a 2024 altercation on a public school bus.
The mother, Wendi Whittle, filed the petition for a settlement on Tuesday. The Beaufort County School District and the South Carolina School Boards Insurance Trust have offered a sum of $90,000 to settle, according to court documents.
It happened May 17, 2024, as the bus carrying Bluffton Middle School students made a stop in the Heritage Lakes neighborhood. A female student allegedly punched the victim once in the face and the victim punched back, according to a Bluffton Police Department incident report.
Then a student farther up in the bus began recording, capturing another female student standing in the aisle of the school bus repeatedly swing the stainless steel tumbler at the victim, landing several blows to her head. The bus driver was heard shouting “Stop it!” before walking down the aisle toward the students.
The victim suffered “multiple lacerations” on the top of her head that required staples and one “significant” injury to her forehead that required over a dozen stitches, according to a Bluffton Police Department incident report. It added that she may require surgery for cheekbone fractures.
Police issued juvenile petitions for assault and battery
When interviewed, the girl who initiated the fight told police she did so because the victim had posted a nude photograph of another student, according to previous reporting. The victim admitted to posting the photo on her social media but claimed it was deleted shortly after.
The police report said the victim was on the phone with her mom as she was assaulted. While on the bus, she had texted Whittle she believed she was going to get “jumped.”
The bus returned mid-route to Bluffton Middle School and the victim — described in the police report as “covered in blood” — was turned over to nursing staff, who tried to reduce swelling and stop the bleeding from her head wounds. She was later taken by EMS to the emergency room at Novant Health Hilton Head Medical Center, the police report said.
Police issued juvenile petitions for assault and battery to both girls who struck the victim, filing a third-degree charge against the girl who threw the first punch and a first-degree charge against the student who wielded the Stanley cup. It was unclear if and how the cases were adjudicated, as juvenile court cases are not a matter of public record.
The settlement
The proposed $90,000 settlement had not been approved as of Thursday. For settlements involving children in South Carolina, settlements require court approval if the payout to the minor exceeds $25,000.
The court filing notes about $32,800 of the proposed $90,000 payout would go to Carr Legal Group for attorneys fees, leaving about $56,600 for the child’s settlement.
Michael P. Bennett, a member of the Carr Legal Group who is representing Whittle, was reached via phone Thursday morning but could not immediately answer questions about the case.
A spokesperson for the BCSD said it is unable to comment on pending legal matters.
