Hilton Head woman who ran over man twice released from jail. Was it road rage or panic?

A Hilton Head woman who ran over a man twice in a Burger King parking lot was released from jail Thursday afternoon, following a courtroom clash over details of the alleged road rage incident and testimony claiming it was unintentional.

Tysha Shailayah Brown, 25, charged with attempted murder after the April 1 incident, was granted a personal recognizance bond by Beaufort County Judge Brooks P. Goldsmith, meaning she was released without having to post bail.

A number of bond conditions suggested by the prosecution, including GPS monitoring of Brown and restricting her access to firearms, were not included in the ruling, but Goldsmith prohibited Brown from contacting the 66-year-old Hilton Head man who was injured.

Brown previously denied intentionally running over the man, telling Beaufort County deputies she tried to “drive around him” after he began hitting the hood of her car. Police disagreed, using the restaurant’s surveillance footage as evidence to accuse the woman of attempted murder, Brown’s first and only criminal charge.

“Not only does she not have a record, she has never even had a speeding ticket in her entire life,” said Brown’s defense attorney William Jenkins, arguing that his client’s actions arose from fear of the driver approaching her car.

The injured man, who is not being publicly identified, is staying at a long-term rehabilitation facility and has already undergone multiple surgeries for the six compound fractures in his legs, said Assistant Solicitor Jared Shedd, who prosecuted Thursday’s proceedings.

The injured man and his lawyer did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

While emphasizing that the prosecution does not condone road rage, Shedd said the restaurant’s surveillance footage demonstrates an “intentional act,” showing Brown running over the man’s legs before putting the car in reverse and backing over them again.

Contested chain of events

The Thursday afternoon bond hearing was rife with disagreement over details of the April 1 incident, which began around 7 a.m. as both drivers traveled across Hilton Head via U.S. 278.

Jenkins said Brown was returning home after dropping a friend off for a shift at the island’s Marriott Courtyard hotel, where Brown also works, when she saw the driver of a black Nissan Altima quarreling with another driver on the Cross Island Parkway.

Brown passed the vehicles, Jenkins said, but several minutes later was approached by the driver of the Nissan, who began to “brake check” Brown, an act of suddenly slamming one’s brakes to antagonize drivers traveling close behind.

Brown began turning toward the Museum Street Burger King, and the driver of the Nissan followed, speeding ahead and stopping his car in the middle of the parking lot, Jenkins said. The driver then allegedly got out of the car and approached Brown, beating on the hood of her vehicle, cursing and even “spitting on her,” the attorney added.

Reportedly “scared to death” by the man’s actions, Brown attempted to drive away, thinking her car was in reverse, Jenkins testified. After realizing she had run over the man’s legs, Brown tried to move the car off of him, reversing over his legs again in the process.

The prosecution’s narrative of the incident differed on several fronts.

Shedd said that after the verbal confrontation between Brown and the Nissan driver in the parking lot, and as Brown threw Styrofoam cups at the man from her vehicle, the man began to walk away. That’s when Brown’s vehicle backed up slightly, lurching ahead and rightward in the direction of the man before running him over.

The prosecutor also included statements from the Burger King’s manager, who reportedly witnessed the incident while standing outside the restaurant that morning. The manager said he heard the man ask Brown, “Why the hell are you following me?” and alleged Brown told the man, “I got you now,” after running over his legs.

The defense protested these witness statements. “How many Burger King managers do you know that are in the parking lot at seven o’clock in the morning?” asked Matthew Paulk, Brown’s original defense attorney who assisted Jenkins during the hearing.

Maj. Angela Viens, a spokesperson for the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, confirmed that deputies spoke to the restaurant manager.

Central to the case is the restaurant’s surveillance video, which neither attorney had seen prior to Thursday’s proceedings. The footage was entered into evidence at the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office but cannot be released while the investigation is active, Viens said.

The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office has not released a copy of the video to the public.

Viens said the video shows Brown throwing “items” from her car window at the man but would not specify what the objects were. While the video does not depict the man beating on the hood of Brown’s vehicle, Viens said, the front of the woman’s car moves out of view as the incident progresses, meaning the footage does not necessarily confirm or deny Brown’s statement.

Jenkins maintains that his client “panicked” and did not intend to hurt the man.

“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.”

A preliminary hearing for Brown, which will begin the process of determining her guilt or innocence, has not yet been scheduled.

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