Update: Troopers look for blue vehicle involved in deadly Beaufort hit-and-run
Troopers asked for the public’s help in identifying a blue Ford that fled the scene on a Beaufort-area highway after fatally striking a bicyclist over the Fourth of July weekend.
The blue suspect vehicle was believed to be a 1996-2004 Ford F-150, a 1997-1999 Ford F-250 or a 1997-2002 Ford Expedition. It should have damage to the passenger-side front headlight, according to an informational flyer released Monday by the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Beaufort resident Vick Smalls, 50, was identified as the deceased bicyclist by the Beaufort County Coroner’s Office. He died at the scene of the crash on U.S. 21 (Trask Parkway).
Officials estimated the fatal collision happened sometime in a 10-hour window of mostly darkness: between 8 p.m. Saturday and 6 a.m. Sunday.
Smalls and the suspect vehicle had both been traveling south on U.S. 21 in the Seabrook area of northern Beaufort County, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Near the highway’s intersection with Bruce K. Smalls Drive — slightly north of the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort — the vehicle hit Smalls’ bike before leaving the area, SCHP Sgt. Tyler Tidwell said in a Sunday press release.
It was one of two traffic fatalities in the immediate area over the July 4 holiday weekend. SCHP troopers also said a pedestrian was struck and killed by two cars on U.S. 21 just after midnight Saturday, although those vehicles did not flee the scene.
U.S. 21 consistently ranks among the most dangerous roadways in Beaufort County based on collision numbers, according to data from the S.C. Department of Public Safety.
The weekend’s incidents marked the ninth and 10th known traffic fatalities in Beaufort County so far this year. In 2024, a total of 26 people were killed in traffic-related incidents across the county, five of whom were pedestrians.
Anyone with information about the hit-and-run case is encouraged to submit an anonymous tip by calling SCHP at 843-953-6010 or 1-800-768-1501, dialing *HP or using the Crime Stoppers of Beaufort County tip service.
Beaufort County traffic deaths so far in 2025
Feb. 1: A 10-year-old boy was struck and killed by a pickup truck while riding his bike in a Bluffton-area neighborhood.
Feb. 8: The driver of a Mini Cooper was killed after the car collided with a tree and caught fire off U.S. 278 on Hilton Head Island.
Feb 10: A motorcyclist died in a collision with a tree on Trask Parkway.
March 19: A Varnville resident was killed after his pickup truck flipped and struck a tree in northern Beaufort County.
April 27: A pedestrian was believed to be fatally struck by two vehicles that fled the scene near the Broad River Bridge. SCHP troopers asked for the public’s help in identifying the suspect drivers.
May 19: A Beaufort man was killed and three others were hospitalized after a six-vehicle pileup on Bluffton’s U.S. 278 near the entrance to Rose Hill Plantation.
June 7: A two-vehicle collision on S.C. 170 killed a driver from Hinesville, Georgia, and sent three of her passengers to the hospital.
June 12: A motorcyclist died at the hospital after his bike ran off the highway near the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.
July 5: A pedestrian on Parris Island Gateway was struck and killed by two passing cars just after midnight.
This report will be updated.
This story was originally published July 7, 2025 at 4:53 PM.
