Man sent to prison for 2022 DUI crash on Hilton Head that killed his passenger
A Ridgeland man was sentenced to six years in prison for killing his passenger in a high-speed 2022 crash while driving under the influence at the junction of U.S. 278 on Hilton Head Island.
Jackson Abraham Macias, 24, pleaded guilty last month to felony DUI resulting in death and reckless vehicular homicide.
The crash happened around 1 a.m. on Oct. 8, 2022, as Macias sped his 1996 Honda Civic Hatchback east on U.S. 278 (William Hilton Parkway) and attempted to enter the Cross Island Parkway.
Investigators determined Macias was driving 94 mph in the 45 mph zone, causing him to lose control at the start of the highway’s curve. As it began to spin counter-clockwise, the two-door car briefly veered onto the right-side shoulder before traveling back across the road and colliding with trees and shrubbery in the median.
Two witnesses who stopped to help the Honda’s occupants told police Macias smelled of alcohol, according to a case report from the South Carolina Highway Patrol. Macias initially told deputies on the scene that he had not been in the car during the crash.
The crash killed 22-year-old Haley Rebecca Hubner of Bluffton, who was in the Hatchback’s front passenger seat. Loved ones wrote her obituary in the form of a poem, remembering her steadfast personality and contagious laugh.
Macias’ driving record showed three speeding violations since 2019. In Jasper County, he was convicted for marijuana possession in 2019 and for driving without a license and registration in 2021.
Circuit Court Judge Carmen T. Mullen handed down Macias’ sentence Aug. 13 at the Beaufort County Courthouse. His six-year prison term was about a fourth of his possible punishment for felony DUI, which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years under South Carolina law.
This story was originally published September 8, 2025 at 3:25 PM.
