Driver faces felony charges after road rage Sunday in Beaufort County, 2nd this month
A driver in Bluffton faces a felony charge after he allegedly rammed into another car several times purposefully following a minor crash, according to the Bluffton Police Department.
Amador Rivera-Hernandez, 51, of Bluffton, was charged with first-degree assault and battery, reckless driving and malicious injury to property, jail records show.
Officers were called after a minor collision occurred at the Bluffton traffic circle near Highway 46 and Bluffton Parkway around 2 p.m., said Sgt. Bonifacio Perez with the Bluffton Police Department. After the initial crash, Perez said, Rivera-Hernandez “intentionally rammed” the other car several times, almost flipping it over. Both cars were damaged enough that they had to be towed from the area, police said.
No injuries were reported.
As of Monday morning, Rivera-Hernandez remained in custody at the Beaufort County Detention Center.
Previous incidents
This is at least the second road-rage incident resulting in charges this month in Beaufort County, including an incident in which a 25-year-old woman is accused of running over a man at Hilton Head Burger King twice following road rage, according to previous reporting from the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette.
In that case, Tysha Shailayah Brown, of Hilton Head, was charged April 1 with attempted murder after police say she hit the man with her car. The man later was taken to the hospital for fractures to his leg. In a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report, Brown told deputies that she was trying to go around the man who she said was yelling, punching at her car and spitting on it in the parking lot.
Brown’s actions were out of fear, said her attorney, Wiliam Jenkins, in a bond hearing earlier this month.
“This is a 25-year-old girl that’s never been in trouble. This is a 66-year-old man who ought to know better,” he said. “He’s beating on the hood of her car. ... She was scared to death and panicked.”
The man who was injured was staying at a long-term rehabilitation facility following multiple surgeries for six compound leg fractures, according to previous reporting from the newspapers. It could not be immediately determined Monday whether the man is still receiving treatment for his injuries.
Brown was released on bond on April 13 and a preliminary hearing for her case scheduled for this past Friday was postponed. As of Monday, Brown’s charges are pending.
Since April 2022, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office has logged at least 10 such incidents with three of those resulting in criminal charges.
Despite that, road rage incidents in Bluffton are “few and far between,” Perez said.
“We have a plethora of fender benders and distracted driving,” he said. “This is the only road rage, I believe, in recent memory.”
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The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette publishes police booking photos, or mugshots, in the following instances:
In situations where a public figure or someone in a position of public trust is arrested
In cases where there is an immediate and widespread threat to public safety
In cases where the arrested person is accused of a crime reporters have evidence to believe involved numerous, unknown victims
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