By Mike McCombs
The Island News
A single-vehicle crash just before midnight on Saturday, May 13, shut down traffic on Ribaut Road in Port Royal for almost nine hours.
According to the City of Beaufort/Town of Port Royal Fire Department (BPRFD), just before midnight, Engine Company 3, Ladder Company 2 and Battalion 1 responded to a call for a motor vehicle accident.
A compact sport-utility vehicle had demolished a brick landscaping wall on the property of Parker’s and struck a utility pole, knocking it down and breaking it in half, leaving power lines down across all lanes of Ribaut Road just west of the intersection with Paris Avenue in Port Royal.
According to BPRFD, a driver was not located, and witnesses reported the driver fled the scene.
Along with the Port Royal Police Department, Dominion Energy responded to the scene to handle the downed electrical lines. SCDOT was requested for traffic control with the road closure expected to last hours while repairs were completed.
Port Royal Police Department (PRPD) Capt. John Griffith said the driver that fled the scene had been identified, and there was an outstanding warrant for that person on charges of Striking Fixtures On Or Adjacent To A Highway and Failure to Report. Griffith declined to identify the driver, but indicated investigators had spoken with the driver’s attorney on Tuesday.
“It’s my understanding there’s a warrant for them,” Griffith said, “and they are supposed to be turning them selves in first thing Wednesday morning.”
According to Griffith, Ribaut Road was re-opened at about 9 a.m., Sunday, May 14.
BPRFD spokesperson Ross Vezin said it wasn’t the first time this particular utility pole had been involved in a crash.
“That power pole right there has probably hit three times,” he said.
Mike McCombs is the Editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.
