Bluffton police still investigating Monday’s SC 46 wreck

A wreck on May River Road and Okatie Highway in Bluffton sent five people to the hospital and snared traffic for three hours during rush hour Monday.

The three-vehicle crash happened just before 5:45 p.m. when a Toyota Avalon heading east on May River Road “crossed the center line and hit a Ford Focus station wagon head on,” Bluffton Police Department spokeswoman Joy Nelson said Tuesday.

A third vehicle, an SUV, was driving right behind the Focus, and when the collision happened “there were several pieces of debris thrown into the vehicle,” Nelson said.

Bluffton police and Bluffton Township Fire District personnel responded to the scene.

Firefighters used Jaws of Life to remove injured female driver from the Focus “because she was pinned inside”, Nelson said.

The driver, along with her two children who were in the backseat of the Focus, were taking by ground to Savannah Memorial Hospital, as was the female driver of the Avalon.

The female driver of the SUV hit with debris from the crash was taken by ground to Coastal Carolina Hospital.

Nelson said several of the patients suffered broken bones, but none of the injuries appeared life threatening.

“The cause of the accident remains under investigation,” she said. “We don’t know what caused the Toyota to cross the middle line.”

Officers with the department’s Collision Response Team will be reconstructing the wreck over the next several days to determine a cause, Nelson said.

Because the investigation is ongoing, the names of those involved have not be released, she said.

This story was originally published February 16, 2016 at 9:58 AM with the headline "Bluffton police still investigating Monday’s SC 46 wreck."