Infant killed, 1 injured in Bluffton Parkway crash late Sunday night. Driver arrested
A Bluffton man was charged with felony DUI after a single-car collision on Bluffton Parkway killed an infant and injured another passenger late Sunday night, according to the S.C. Highway Patrol (SCHP).
Starling Guzman, a 4-month-old from Allendale, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. Her autopsy would be performed Monday at the Beaufort County Coroner’s Office, according to deputy coroner Shane Bowers.
The driver, 30-year-old Gregorio Hernandez-Castillo, was arrested at the scene by SCHP troopers, according to spokesperson Trooper Nick Pye. He was also charged for an open container of alcohol in the vehicle, driving without a license and failing to properly restrain the infant passenger, according to Beaufort County jail records.
Hernandez-Castillo was driving a 2011 Toyota RAV4 east on Bluffton Parkway near Buck Island Road when the car veered off the right side of the street, according to Master Trooper William Bennett of the SCHP. The driver overcorrected, causing the SUV to strike a tree on the road’s opposite side around 11:18 p.m. Sunday.
Another passenger was taken to the Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, Bennett said. The driver was uninjured. It was unknown Monday morning if Hernandez-Castillo was related to the deceased infant.
As of 11:30 a.m. Monday, Hernandez-Castillo was in custody at the Beaufort County Detention Center while awaiting a bond hearing. He had pleaded guilty in June 2023 to a first DUI offense that occurred early that year, according to judicial records.
The crash remains under investigation by the SCHP. It was the twelfth traffic-related fatality in Beaufort and Jasper Counties so far this year. Others include:
April 29: A bicyclist from Hardeeville was struck and killed by an unknown hit-and-run suspect, believed to be driving a Chevrolet pickup truck or SUV. April 5: A 3-year-old boy crossing Bay Pines Road in Beaufort was struck by a pickup truck and died early the next morning. March 31: Ridgeland resident Stephen “Steve” Roberts was killed after his truck ran off I-95 in northern Hardeeville. Feb. 28: Hardeeville man Nelson Espinoza-Flores drowned after his vehicle crashed into a retention pond in the RiverPort Commerce Park. Feb. 27: Daniel Cardenas-Andrade of Ridgeland was killed after his car struck a tree outside Yemassee.
Feb. 26: Bluffton man Jason Flack died in a hit-and-run while crossing Hilton Head’s Gumtree Road on foot.
Feb. 14: Beaufort teen Ethan Fish died when his motorcycle collided with a pickup truck on S.C. 170. Feb. 5: Three Savannah residents were killed after their car hydroplaned in southern Jasper County. Jan. 26: Hilton Head resident Gregory Parcella died after his Tesla struck a tree on Spanish Wells Road.
