By Delayna Earley
The Island News
A Beaufort business owner was hit by a car in downtown Beaufort just hours before the grand opening of her new business in the historic district on Thursday, March 6.
Just after 10 a.m. Carol Lynn Vrana was crossing Carteret Street when she was struck by a vehicle.
Vrana was just hours shy of opening the doors of her new downtown Beaufort business, the Beaufort Wine Bar, located in the historic Fordham building, for its grand opening, which has since been delayed while she recovers from her injuries suffered in the accident.
Vrana was in the crosswalk when she was hit by a vehicle that was waiting to drive across the Richard V. Woods Memorial Bridge heading onto Lady’s Island, according to the Beaufort Police Department.
After the light turned green, the car accelerated to head over the bridge, but the driver didn’t see Vrana in the crosswalk and struck her.
There were no tickets issued against the driver and no charges have been filed, according to police.
According to a Go Fund Me page created for the business owner, she was flown to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston (MUSC) where she was treated for a brain bleed in the intensive care unit (ICU). An update to the page on March 13, states that she has since been moved from the ICU and is now convalescing in a regular room at MUSC.
As of Tuesday, March 18, the Go Fund Me page has raised more than $7,500.
The Beaufort Wine Bar is located at the corner of Bay and Carteret streets, and it shares a space with Fishburne Gallery. A soft opening was held on March 5, and the grand opening for both businesses was to be held at 3 p.m. on March 6.
Currently the Fishburne Gallery is accepting private appointments to visit its collection and the wine bar’s opening has been postponed.
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Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
