Update: 21-year-old from Hilton Head was driver killed in single-car crash Monday
A 21-year-old man from Hilton Head Island was identified as the driver who died early Monday morning when his car left U.S. 278 and struck a tree on the north end of the island.
Carlos Vera was pronounced dead from blunt force injuries at the scene of the single-car collision, according to the Beaufort County Coroner’s Office.
The fatal crash happened around 1:30 a.m. Monday as Vera drove a gold 2006 Toyota sedan west on U.S. 278 (William Hilton Parkway), according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol. As the car passed the highway’s intersection with Museum Street — near the Hilton Head Walmart store — it veered off the right side of the road and struck a tree.
Vera was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, according to Master Trooper Mitchell Ridgeway of the SCHP. No other people were inside the car at the time.
U.S. 278 has a speed limit of 45 mph in the area of Monday’s fatal crash.
The collision marked the 11th known traffic fatality in Beaufort County so far this year. In 2024, a total of 26 people were killed in traffic-related incidents across the county.
North-end Hilton Head and the area of the island’s entrance are home to some of the most dangerous intersections in Beaufort County, according to collision data from the South Carolina Department of Public Safety.
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.
July 6: A bicyclist was killed in a hit-and-run at an unknown time on U.S. 21. SCHP troopers were attempting to learn the make and model of the suspect vehicle and the driver’s identity.
This story was originally published July 21, 2025 at 2:18 PM.
