This Hilton Head neighborhood’s lagoons claimed 3 lives in 3 years. Should something be done?
In Sea Pines’ Beach Lagoon neighborhood, the waters bordering the multimillion-dollar homes make up a community of their own.
Egrets glide just above the lagoon’s surface. Box turtles sunbathe on the shoreline. Walkers or bicyclists might spot an alligator slinking slowly through the brown water.
But twice in three years — both in the black of night — cars have slipped into the neighborhood’s mostly unfenced waters, claiming the lives of three people.
In May 2023, Hilton Head Island men Michael Weingarten, 77, and Neil Hilsen, 81, drowned after the Mazda they were passengers in rolled into the lagoon as the driver attempted to back out of a private driveway on Beach Lagoon Road. The driver, Weingarten’s brother, escaped the sinking car uninjured.
And earlier this year, 90-year-old Sun City woman Helen Connors was found dead in her Lincoln SUV after the car sunk nose-first into another neighborhood lagoon on South Beach Lagoon Drive, about a half-mile away. Authorities believe the car entered the water the evening prior, and rescue operations didn’t begin until the morning of April 1 when neighbors noticed the back of the SUV protruding from the lagoon.
Each occurrence raised questions about whether barriers along the lagoons’ edges are necessary, and how much responsibility Sea Pines has in balancing residents’ safety with maintaining the island’s ecological character.
The 2023 deaths sparked a still-pending lawsuit that blamed the resort for failing to protect drivers from the “steep slope” leading to the blackwater lagoon. The Mazda’s driver, Barry Weingarten, agreed to a $500,000 settlement with his brother’s wife in a separate lawsuit but denied any responsibility for the accident.
Locals who spoke to The Island Packet had conflicting opinions. Some urged Sea Pines to install fencing or other protective measures to prevent future fatalities, while others questioned the financial viability of placing bushes or barriers around every inch of lagoon water. Many expressed worry about such projects marring the neighborhood’s natural beauty.
“That’s a very nice area with a nice little lagoon,” said Hilton Head Town Councilman Steve Alfred, whose ward includes the entirety of the Sea Pines Resort. Although there are lagoons all over the island, he said, cars entering the water is relatively rare.
“I think the incidents of trouble, as far as I’m aware of — although there have been dramatic ones in recent years — is very slim,” Alfred said.
‘The road is really narrow’
Angie Toth-Mullin, who manages several rental properties in Beach Lagoon, said “something needs to be done” to separate the street from the lagoons — especially because vacationers come “from all over the country” and are unfamiliar with the winding waterside roads.
“I travel that road (for work) ... The road is really narrow,” Toth-Mullin said. She added that contractors’ trucks that are often parked in the neighborhood sometimes intrude on the roadway, making the routes even more precarious.
A spokesperson for Sea Pines Community Services Associates, which oversees infrastructure and maintenance in the 5,000-acre oceanfront resort, said the organization was “deeply saddened by the tragic incident” on April 1 in Beach Lagoon, “and our thoughts remain with the family, friends and all those affected.” The CSA declined to comment on the possibility of additional safety measures being implemented.
Both the Beaufort County Coroner’s Office and South Carolina Highway Patrol have concluded their investigations into the incident, the agencies confirmed on Thursday. Coroner’s spokesperson Shane Bowers said Connors’ toxicology report revealed nothing out of the ordinary.
“Why (Connors) ran off the road — unfortunately, we may never know that,” Cpl. Nick Pye of the SCHP said. “It could be a combination of things: not knowing where she was going, dementia, alcohol ... on the cellphone,” which are some of the factors troopers consider in every collision investigation, he said.
Luxury homes, deadly lagoons
Sporting waterfront views and private paths to the beach, homes in the Beach Lagoon neighborhood are some of the most sought-after properties on Hilton Head. One five-bedroom home is currently on the market for $6.1 million.
The majority of homes in Beach Lagoon border the neighborhood’s lagoons, with many driveways backing up to the water. While some of the shoreline is blocked off by trees, fencing or small wooden posts, large portions of the neighborhood’s routes have no barriers separating the roadway from the grassy slopes leading into the water.
Some residents pointed out the lack of white lines on the sides of the community’s roadways, which they said could spell disaster for visitors with impaired vision or drivers passing through at night.
“(Connors) apparently didn’t have any idea where she was,” Toth-Mullin, the property manager, told The Island Packet. “90 years old, driving around ... I mean, it’s so dark in here, even when you know the streets.”
Beach Lagoon resident Cynthia Brignati expressed hesitancy about additions like white lines and extra traffic signage — “It’s a neighborhood, not a main road” — but said “little lights” along the lagoon’s edge could help drivers stay on course.
“I like fences,” Brignati said, explaining her efforts to keep her dog safe from alligators, but “people around here don’t like fences.”
Mark Littell, who lived in New York and New Jersey for decades before purchasing a vacation home in Beach Lagoon, said no amount of infrastructure can completely eliminate collisions and traffic deaths. His time commuting in the city taught him that, he said.
“I would doubt whether there’s much of a case to be made for a wholesale change” in installing signage or planting more trees in Beach Lagoon, Littell said.
Alfred said he’s seen several cases of cars rolling into various lagoons during his time on Hilton Head. Some incidents could be attributed to “lack of familiarity with neighborhoods,” he said, but Alfred also argued that personal responsibility should play a role in the discussion.
“There are a lot of lagoons, and driving off a (traffic) circle into a lagoon — something has gone wrong. You’re not paying attention is the most likely cause,” the councilman said.
Explaining why she advocates for any sort of lagoon-side barriers in Beach Lagoon, Toth-Mullin said she values the safety of the thousands of residents and vacationers who traverse its roads, including her own clients.
“I know we care about nature ... I’m not saying we need to build some big white fence, but something that blends in,” Toth-Mullin said. “I just don’t want to see accidents like that happen again.”
