Dayna Akers is no stranger to witnessing traffic accidents and car collisions in Beaufort County — they happen that often, she says. However, her four-year-old son believes cars are indestructible.
En route to daycare on the morning of July 24, they both were shaken as they witnessed the aftermath of a two-car collision at the intersection of Parris Island Gateway and Savannah Highway. One vehicle ended up wrapped around a telephone pole. While Akers consoled her son, all she could think was that it could have been them.
“I’ve never lived somewhere where I’ve seen this many accidents,” she said. “If I can go a day without a Nixle report, I celebrate.”
As the county’s population has grown in recent years, bringing more vehicles to the roads, the diverse mix of drivers are contributing to the increase in traffic volume at intersections, according to traffic data sets by South Carolina’s Department of Public Safety and analyzed by the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette.
From January 1, 2020 to June 16, 2024, a staggering 15,489 traffic accidents have occurred throughout the county, resulting in 103 people killed and 6,314 people injured, according to a SCDPS data set. This year has already recorded 13 fatalities and 633 injuries by mid-June, suggesting a potentially higher annual toll compared to previous years if current trends persist.
In response to a request from The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette, the state’s Department of Public Safety also provided data on the Top 10 worst intersections in the county over the past four years through July 22. This data revealed a total of 1,432 traffic accidents, two deaths and 35 severe injuries.
The total number of collisions rose steadily from 220 in 2020 to a peak of 365 in 2022, the number of serious injuries also showed an increase, jumping from four in 2020 to 12 in both 2021 and 2022. However, in 2023, while the total number of collisions remained high at 356, the number of serious injuries dropped back to four. Despite this decrease in serious injuries, fatalities have remained constant, with one person dying in both 2023 and the partial data available for 2024.
The 2024 data, although incomplete, shows 182 collisions and 3 serious injuries. The intersections that have consistently shown high collision rates also remain problematic in 2024.
Akers, a veteran business consultant, drives throughout the county for different employers and routinely passes through many of these intersections. Her main concern is with the traffic at the intersection of Parris Island Gateway and Robert Smalls Parkway, which has consistently been Top 2 in the most dangerous intersections in the county since 2020.
“I think people are just in a hurry and they get angry,” she said. “I just wish everybody would slow down and realize they’ll get there when they get there, so we can get there safely.”
Parris Island Gateway and Robert Smalls Parkway recorded the highest number of collisions at 267 within the four years, while Fording Island Road and Buckwalter Parkway had the most injuries, with eight people seriously hurt, and Squire Pope Road and Fording Island Road, along with Buckwalter Parkway, each saw one death.
Bluffton Road and Bluffton Parkway is another intersection with a total high collision count at 240 and peaking at 65 in 2022. The number of collisions there has remained high but slightly lower in 2023 and 2024.
Okatie Highway and West Fording Island Road remain sixth on the list of most concerning interstates since 2020 with 79 collisions in total. Construction at and around the interstate is set to be complete in October with the hope of improving safety and traffic flow.
Below are the lists of current and previous years traffic accidents ranked by total number of collisions:
Top 10 worst intersections in 2024 through July 22
Bluffton Rd & Bluffton Pkwy
Parris Island Gtwy & Robert Smalls Pkwy
Squire Pope Rd & William Hilton Pkwy
Mathews Dr & William Hilton Pkwy
May River Rd & Okatie Hwy
US Primary-0021 & US Primary-0021
Palmetto Bay Rd & Point Comfort Rd
Fording Island Rd & Buckwalter Pkwy
Boundary St & Greenlawn Dr
Broad River Rd Blvd & Parris Island Gtwy
Top 10 worst intersections in 2023
Parris Island Gtwy & Robert Smalls Pkwy
Bluffton Rd & Bluffton Pkwy
US Primary-0021 & US Primary-0021
Squire Pope Rd & William Hilton Pkwy
Lady Island’s Dr & Sam’s Point Rd
Savannah Hwy & Robert Smalls Pkwy
Mathews Dr & William Hilton Pkwy
Buck Island Rd & Fording Island Rd
Palmetto Bay Rd & Point Comfort Rd
Okatie Hwy & West Fording Island Rd
Top 10 worst intersections in 2022
Parris Island Gtwy & Robert Smalls Pkwy
Bluffton Rd & Bluffton Pkwy
US Primary-0021 & US Primary-0021
May River Rd & Okatie Hwy
Palmetto Bay Rd & Point Comfort Rd
Fording Island Rd & Buckwalter Pkwy
Mathews Dr & William Hilton Pkwy
Squire Pope Rd & William Hilton Pkwy
Okatie Hwy & West Fording Island Rd
Bluffton Rd & Fording Island Rd
Top 10 worst intersections in 2021
Parris Island Gtwy & Robert Smalls Pkwy
Bluffton Rd & Bluffton Pkwy
Okatie Hwy & West Fording Island Rd
May River Rd & Okatie Hwy
Simmonsville Rd & Bluffton Pkwy
Fording Island Rd & Buckwalter Pkwy
US Primary-0021 & US Primary-0021
Fording Island Rd & Simmonsville Rd
Squire Pope Rd & William Hilton Pkwy
Mathews Dr & William Hilton Pkwy
Top 10 worst intersections in 2020
Bluffton Rd & Bluffton Pkwy
Parris Island Gtwy & Robert Smalls Pkwy
Squire Pope Rd & William Hilton Pkwy
Mathews Dr & William Hilton Pkwy
May River Rd & Okatie Hwy
US Primary-0021 & US Primary-0021
Palmetto Bay Rd & Point Comfort Rd
Fording Island Rd & Buckwalter Pkwy
Broad River Rd Blvd & Parris Island Gtwy
Boundary St & Greenlawn Dr
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