by WILL FOLKS
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Beaufort County, South Carolina residents are asking questions – and seeking accountability – in the aftermath of a fatal driving under the influence (DUI) crash that occurred last week on U.S. Highway 21. Their objective in drawing attention to this case? Ensuring justice is done for the victim – a decorated U.S. Army veteran cut down just days before our nation was set to honor those who served in defense of America.
At approximately 3:20 p.m. EST on Friday (November 6, 2026), a 2007 Toyota sport utility vehicle traveling southbound on Highway 21 veered into oncoming traffic near Kemmerlin Lane – approximately two miles south of downtown Beaufort. After crossing the center line, it collided with a 2000 GMC pickup heading northbound.
The impact was a head-on collision, according to the S.C. Highway Patrol (SCHP).
Within forty-five minutes of impact, at 4:05 p.m. EST, 76-year-old James Robert Wiggins of Beaufort, S.C. had been declared dead as a result of blunt force injuries sustained during the collision. According to his obituary, Wiggins – a native Virginian – was a Vietnam Veteran who earned the Combat Infantryman Badge and two Bronze Stars during his deployment. Wounded during the conflict, he also earned the Purple Heart.
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Wiggins was part of the famed Charlie Company of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, an elite air-mobile unit which pioneered helicopter-based incursions into enemy territory during the Vietnam War.
Following his military service, Wiggins worked in forestry – and later as a schoolteacher at Beaufort Elementary School.
“His deep dedication to his students was matched only by the fulfillment he felt seeing his lessons enrich their futures,” his obituary noted.
The driver of the Toyota, 19-year-old Bowen Bryant Hill of Lady’s Island, was treated for injuries and arrested following the collision. He has been charged with felony driving under the influence resulting in death and purchase or possession of alcoholic liquors by a minor. He was released two days after the crash on a $100,000 surety bond.
FITSNews has covered several high-profile DUI death cases in recent years – including an April 2023 crash on Folly Beach that killed newlywed Samantha Miller on her wedding night. The driver who killed Miller – and badly injured her husband and several others – was Jamie Lee Komoroski. She received the maximum sentence of twenty-five (25) years from S.C. circuit court judge Deadra Jefferson – even after agreeing to plead to the charge and save the state the expense of a trial.
We have consistently advocated on behalf of such stringent sentences in these cases… just as we have advocated on behalf of tougher statutes, firmer judges, higher bonds, truth-in-sentencing and other reforms aimed at holding violent criminals accountable.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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