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JANUARY 14–20, 2021 WWW.YOURISLANDNEWS.COM
COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
2 arrested in connection with fatal bridge crash in Port Royal MIKE MCCOMBS
At this point, silence is complicity
I
’ll admit, since last Wednesday, when I knew I would write something, I’ve struggled to decide exactly what would I write in this space. But the one thing I’ve known for sure … I would write SOMETHING. Because at this point, to borrow from Martin Luther King, Jr., silence is betrayal. Silence is complicity. Last Wednesday, much too late to make the pages of this weekly newspaper, the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, tried to overthrow the government of this country. He encouraged, … incited a mob of his followers to march to the U.S. Capitol building where both houses of Congress were in session to certify the legitimate election of Joe Biden as the 46th President. For all intents and purposes, he put out a hit on not only the members of Congress and their staffs and aides, but Vice President Mike Pence, as well. Pence had refused to overturn the results of the election, something he doesn’t even have the Constitutional power to do. His refusal simply made him expendable to Trump since he wouldn’t break the law and throw out the will of the people at his request. The coup attempt failed, thanks to some quick wits, the bravery of some members of the Capitol Police and, quite frankly, a lot of luck. But not before at least six people died and the lives of what will likely be thousands of people were forever altered by the events of the day. And not before the foundations of this nation were shaken to the core. Now there seems to be a dilemma in the aftermath. There seems to be a debate
Incident reports from day of crash detail harrowing scene — as first responders and civilians work to save family, police interview those involved in wreck By Mindy Lucas Two men have been arrested in connection with a three-vehicle fa-
tal collision on the J.E. McTeer bridge that took the lives of four family members and had the Lowcountry reeling Campbell in September. Terry Campbell Jr., 19, and Phillip Roberts, 40, both of Beaufort, were arrested on Thursday, Jan. 7, by officers with the Port Royal Police Department. Both were charged with five
counts each of reckless vehicular homicide, according to a news release issued by the department earlier this week. Roberts The collision, which occurred just after 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19, involved three vehicles including a gold Chevrolet Malibu, driven by Campbell, and a gray Ford F-150 driven by Roberts.
Both drivers were found to be traveling at high rates of speed – Campbell at 86 miles per hour and Roberts at 80 miles per hour – according to incident reports made on the date of the collision. The vehicles had been traveling across the bridge toward Lady’s Island when the crash occurred. A third vehicle, a Dodge Caravan, was driven by the father of the family
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COVID-19
Vaccines cards and instructions await recipients at Beaufort Memorial Hospital. Photo by Mindy Lucas.
Area hospitals filling up with COVID patients
Vaccinations now open to anyone 70 and older – with appointments
By Mindy Lucas While the numbers of patients testing positive continue to rise this winter both across the country and here in Beaufort County – just as the country’s top health experts had warned – hospitals around
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the Lowcountry are filling up with COVID-19 patients, officials say. As of Monday, Jan. 11, Beaufort Memorial’s 12-bed Intensive Care Unit, or ICU, had 10 patients on ventilators, according to hospital officials. The hospital can open an additional unit if needed, but was managing its current patient load between the ICU and Progressive Care Unit, or PCU, said Courtney
McDermott, the hospital’s Director of Marketing and Communications. Across the river, Coastal Carolina and Hilton Head Hospital, both part of the Hilton Head Regional Healthcare System managed by the Tenet Healthcare Corporation, have also seen an increase in the number of patients treated for the virus in
SEE HOSPITALS PAGE A6
NEWS
MILITARY
INSIDE
Historic Bay Street home added to National Register of Historic Places.
Molly Marine promotes rich history of female Marines.
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