84-year-old Bluffton man killed making a left turn on US 278 near Hilton Head bridges

An 84-year-old driver was killed Friday afternoon when he attempted to make a left turn on U.S. 278 in Bluffton near the bridges to Hilton Head Island and was struck by an oncoming vehicle.

The Beaufort County Coroner’s Office identified the driver as Ernest Marchetti of Bluffton, according to Capt. Bob Bromage at the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

The coroner’s office has scheduled an autopsy to be performed Saturday at MUSC in Charleston, Bromage said Friday evening.

Marchetti was not wearing a seat belt when his 2000 Lexus SUV turned from eastbound U.S. 278 onto Moss Creek Village Drive and was struck by a westbound driver in a 2014 GMC pickup, according to Lance Cpl. Judd Jones of South Carolina Highway Patrol.

The driver of the pickup, a 34-year-old Bluffton man who was wearing a seat belt, was not injured, Jones said.

Marchetti was pronounced dead at the scene.

The collision occurred just before 2:45 p.m. outside the Moss Creek Village shopping center. Off-island traffic was backed up for more than two hours as a result of both the crash and heavy rain that began to fall soon after.

The crash remains under investigation by highway patrol.

Beaufort County traffic cameras

This story was originally published July 20, 2018 at 3:48 PM.