Beaufort Co. mother sues driver, caregiver after 4-month-old killed in alleged DUI crash

The mother of a 4-month-old killed in a tragic crash on Bluffton Parkway has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against her daughter’s caregiver and the driver, who in the hours after the May 2024 collision was charged with a felony count of driving under the influence and failing to properly restrain the infant passenger.

Bluffton man Gregorio Hernandez-Castillo, 31, 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 the South Carolina Highway Patrol. The driver overcorrected, causing the SUV to strike a tree in the median the night of May 12.

Starling Guzman, the infant from Allendale, S.C., was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. The driver was uninjured and another passenger in the vehicle was hospitalized in Savannah.

Hernandez-Castillo was arrested for DUI at the scene by SCHP troopers, who also charged him for an open container of alcohol in the vehicle, driving without a license and child endangerment. He was denied bond and remained in custody at the Beaufort County jail as of Friday afternoon.

Filed Tuesday by the child’s mother, 26-year-old Alejandra Guzman, the lawsuit claims the infant had been in the care of Beaufort County woman Maria Romero, who was not criminally charged for the fatal crash. The woman allegedly took the child to a party at her friend’s house the night of May 12 and allowed Hernandez-Castillo to drive home “while under the influence.” Romero also stopped on the way home to buy more alcohol, which Hernandez-Castillo drank as he drove, according to the court summons .

The 4-month-old was “killed immediately as a result of the collision,” the lawsuit says. Court documents hold Romero responsible for not buckling the child into her car seat, not strapping the seat into the vehicle and allowing Hernandez-Castillo to drive drunk. The filing also blames the driver’s impaired state and negligent driving for bringing the baby’s life “to an abrupt end.”

Bluffton Parkway is a collision hot spot in Beaufort County , especially at its intersection with Bluffton Road, according to data from the state’s Department of Public Safety. The town’s police force has no dedicated traffic enforcement team but says it focuses patrols on the busy, winding roadway and in other problem areas that contribute to rising fatal crashes.

The civil case seeks damages for the infant’s death and is entirely separate from the slew of criminal charges faced by Hernandez-Castillo, which as of Friday were still pending in Beaufort County court. Judicial records show a court date for his open container offense scheduled for early October, but trial information for his remaining charges was not available.

Hernandez-Castillo had his driver’s license suspended after pleading guilty to DUI in July 2023, according to Beaufort County court records. In that case, his blood alcohol content was found to be less than .10 but still above the legal limit of .08.

Taylor Diggs, a Beaufort County public defender representing Hernandez-Castillo in his criminal case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

Alan Belcher, a Charleston-based lawyer representing Guzman, could not be reached over phone or email for additional questions Friday afternoon. He is a trial attorney for Morgan & Morgan, the personal injury megafirm headquartered in Orlando.

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