Fatal crash after night of drinking at Hilton Head 'Triangle' raises questions for bars [The Island Packet (Hilton Head Island, S.C.)]

Dec. 22—The owner of a bar in the popular "Barmuda Triangle" on Hilton Head Island says he was forced to shut down because of lawsuits stemming from the devastating Hilton Head bridge crash that killed three people in May.

Brendan Reilley, who owns the Boardroom on Greenwood Drive, said Saturday that he closed the bar because his insurance company dropped him due to the lawsuits brought by crash victims and their families. He is unable to find new insurance, he said, because of the claims against the Boardroom.

The lawsuits raise questions about whether all the bars in an area like the Triangle are responsible after an intoxicated patron drives away and kills someone.

The Triangle is arguably the most active nightlife on the sleepy resort island for tourists and retirees, and few options exist for public transit or ride-sharing to safely leave late at night. Deputies regularly respond to intoxicated fights and disputes in the area after hours, especially in the summer.

Reilley, whose family owns the land where the Triangle sits and is involved with two of its bars, railed against the lawsuits for blanketing the businesses. He said they're all independently owned and should not be treated as equally culpable.

The lawyer bringing the lawsuits, however, said all the bars benefit from a culture of binge drinking and loose rules around patrons hopping between bars easily with drinks in hand.

The man who drove intoxicated and killed three people on May 1 did not drink at the Boardroom that night, according to Reilley, though he did drink at the Triangle.

But because of the claims against all the Triangle bars, Reilley's Boardroom was dropped from its insurance company, and its policy expired Tuesday. S.C. businesses are required to have liability insurance in order to have a liquor license, so the Boardroom can't get one now.

Its last day of business was Monday night, Reilley said.

That night, the live music venue of 12 years threw a going-out-of-business event "to honor Boardroom's final hoorah," according to a post on its Facebook page.

"There was a lot of sense of sadness, misunderstanding," Reilley said in an interview. "A lot of musicians came here and said they cut their teeth here. Friends said they met their wives here. They built their lives and remember the good times at the Boardroom. ...

"You work so hard to get something going," Reilley said, "and you get it taken for nothing that you've done wrong."

Three lawsuits

At issue in the lawsuits is whether Tyler Carroll, the driver of the pickup truck who drove the wrong way on the Hilton Head bridge on May 1 and crashed, was over-served alcohol and where.

Tabor Vaux, a Bluffton-based attorney representing family members of Jonathan Daniel Green, 27, of Hardeeville, who was killed in the crash, alleges in lawsuits that Carroll was negligently over-served at the Triangle bars. He contends the bars create a dangerous atmosphere of binge drinking.

In total, Vaux filed three lawsuits with the same general allegations. Two are on behalf of Bridgett Green: one as a personal injury suit because she was in the car and survived, and another as a wrongful death suit representing her husband's estate. The third lawsuit is on behalf of Twyla Reynolds as guardian of Lucian Reynolds, her daughter who was also a passenger in the crash (Lucian Reynolds is also Jonathan Green's sister).

The lawsuits target the Triangle, naming the Boardroom, along with One Hot Mama's, Brother Shuckers Bar and Grill, Reilley's Grill and Bar. They name the two biggest restaurant groups on Hilton Head Island: Coastal Restaurants and Bars (CRAB), which oversees the Boardroom and Reilley's Grill and Bar, and Southeastern Entertainment Restaurant Group (SERG), which oversees One Hot Mama's. Brother Shuckers is owned by a separate LLC.

In addition, the lawsuits name Corks, a wine bar in Bluffton, alleging it also over-served Carroll earlier in the night.

While the lawsuits allege Carroll drank at the Triangle before driving, Reilley said Saturday that Carroll never drank at the Boardroom on the night of the crash. Vaux said they would know for sure if the bar's security camera footage that night wasn't deleted, which is also an issue in dispute.

In addition to Carroll, 23, of Ridgeland, two other victims in the crash were in the car he collided with: Green and Jordan Amari Johnson, 21, of Ridgeland.

Three passengers in Green's car survived.

Public safety issue?

The culture of the Triangle, Vaux alleged in all the lawsuits, is what created the situation that allowed the crash to happen. Patrons of the Triangle on any given night can enter, have their IDs checked and receive a wrist band that allows them access to any of the several bars in the Triangle, Vaux said.

The suit says patrons can bring drinks from bar to bar as well, which is illegal, Vaux said, according to S.C. Department of Revenue rules.

Reilley denied that the Boardroom is allowing that.

But the suit says bringing other bars' drinks in is a problem because bartenders are not able to keep track of how intoxicated patrons are getting.

"Sure, they're a mom-and-pop business. But when that business creates so many dangerous situations on a regular basis, that's a problem," Vaux said. "Essentially they load the gun, cock the gun, but they let somebody else pull the trigger, then say they had nothing to do with it ."

Vaux cited the more than 4,300 calls for service that the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office has responded to at the Triangle in the past five years. He said the Sheriff's Office has a specific bar detail for the Triangle.

In a previous interview, Sheriff P.J. Tanner has said the bar detail is roaming and doesn't specifically concentrate anywhere, but deputies on Hilton Head do focus on the Triangle at closing time.

Reilley said the Boardroom is walled off with a security officer at its entry point. Because Carroll never drank at the Boardroom, he said it is unfair that he is going out of business as a result.

"In no way are we saying The Boardroom has never had an issue. But what we are saying is we do everything possible to prevent issues," Reilley wrote in a letter he posted on Facebook. "We are a responsible business and are being forced to close because of one attorney naming us in a suit we should not be included in."

The Boardroom Facebook page specifically named Vaux in a social media post promoting the final event at the bar. The event was called "'Drop the DRAM,' sponsored by Tabor," according to the post. DRAM is in reference to dram shop laws, which creates liability for establishments that serve alcohol if a customer causes harm as a result of their intoxication.

The South Carolina legislature passed a law in 2017 mandating all establishments that serve alcohol past 5 p.m. to have at least $1 million in liquor liability insurance.

Vaux said he was unaffiliated with the Boardroom's event Monday and that having the bar close down was never in his plan.

"My intention is to represent my clients; it was never to shut down the Boardroom," he said. "Three mothers lost children in the wreck. The three survivors have had their lives derailed, are permanently injured, and will never be the same."

'You share in the bad stuff'

The lawsuits also raise the question of whether the bars in the Triangle should be linked in liability for the crash.

Reilley is the owner of CRAB, which he describes as a marketing name used by a number of Hilton Head businesses. Each business is independently owned, he said.

Reilley said his business shouldn't be liable for what happens at other bars.

But according to Vaux, when one business benefits from a joint venture, built upon a culture of selling alcohol, then every business has to take responsibility when something goes wrong.

"When you share in the good stuff, you share in the bad stuff, too," Vaux said. He said he has several witnesses, including Sheriff's deputies, who can attest that patrons bring drinks bar to bar with no issues.

In court documents, One Hot Mama's, SERG, Corks and CRAB have all denied the allegations in the lawsuits brought by Green's family members.

Brother Shuckers recently settled all claims against it, according to Vaux, though he declined to say what the settlement amount was.

While Reilley maintains the Triangle bars are separate and independent, the land they sit on is actually owned by a company run by Reilley's father and Reilley himself, he confirmed.

The area on Greenwood Drive is also known as Reilley's Plaza.

"The land company doesn't influence what I do at the Boardroom. The land company doesn't tell One Hot Mama's what they do. They're all independent businesses," Reilley said.

"Every bar on Hilton Head (would be) a joint venture because we all sell alcohol," Reilley said. "I don't see that."

Patrick Carr, a Hilton Head lawyer representing the estate of Jordan Johnson, one of the victims in the car with Green who was killed, said the community needs to take a hard look at the Triangle.

"Can you think of any area of Beaufort County where there's a greater concentration of late-night drinking or excessive drinking than the Triangle?" Carr asked. "I can't think of one."

Carr is not part of the lawsuit brought by Vaux. He did not answer when asked if the Johnson estate had an insurance claim against the Triangle and CRAB but said they are still investigating.

According to Vaux, Johnson's estate has an insurance claim against the Triangle as well as another passenger in Green's car who survived.

Carr said the evidence is clear that Carroll was over-served at the Triangle and later crashed.

"This stuff keeps happening," he said, "and no one is doing anything about it."

This story was originally published December 22, 2021 12:24 PM.

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