Two Coastal Carolina University students remain hospitalized after a 17-year-old driver allegedly struck them with his vehicle early Sunday morning at the intersection of S.C. Highway 544 and Elvington Loop, then fled the scene, according to Conway Police Department and Horry County Fire Rescue statements. Emergency crews were dispatched to the crash just after midnight, and the teen, identified as Mauricio Palafox-Correa, was later arrested and charged with felony DUI and two counts of hit-and-run with great bodily injury.
Palafox-Correa was denied bond and transported to the Horry County Detention Center, according to reporting by WYFF 4. Both victims were confirmed as Coastal Carolina University students by the university's president, and police say the pedestrians were crossing Highway 544 when they were hit. As of Sunday, police said both remained hospitalized as the investigation continued, according to the Post and Courier.
WYFF 4 also reported that Palafox-Correa was involved in a separate crash outside Conway city limits, though details of that incident were not immediately clear. The case remains under active investigation as authorities continue piecing together the circumstances of the crash.
A Dangerous Crossing During Move-In Weekend
The crash landed on Coastal Carolina's move-in weekend, when pedestrian traffic around campus swells as thousands of students and their families arrive, the Post and Courier's reporting noted. That timing put more people than usual on and around a stretch of Highway 544 that has drawn scrutiny for years. The four-lane roadway separates CCU's main campus from student apartment complexes and late-night bars, forcing regular crossings by students on foot.
The newspaper's reporting states that at least two CCU students have previously been killed attempting to cross that same stretch of highway. It is not the first close call this year, either — the university's student newspaper, The Chanticleer, reported that two other CCU students were struck by a vehicle while crossing Highway 544 near campus in late February, though both were hospitalized in stable condition at the time.
A $10 Million Overpass Still in Planning
The recurring danger on Highway 544 has already pushed university and state officials to act. Coastal Carolina secured $10 million in combined state and federal funding for a planned pedestrian overpass over the highway, and the university's board of trustees approved a land purchase near Founders Drive in May to move the project forward, per the same Post and Courier report. The overpass plan followed years of debate among local leaders and Department of Transportation officials over medians and safety fencing along the corridor. According to Coastal Carolina University, its board of trustees advanced a pedestrian-overpass project on Feb 25, 2026, to address safety and traffic-operation concerns at the Highway 544 pedestrian crossing. Coastal Carolina University's BY 2030 plan says that in 2024 funding was secured for a pedestrian overpass spanning S.C. 544 to improve safety for students and other pedestrians.
Felony Charges Carry Steep Penalties
Under South Carolina law, the felony DUI charge Palafox-Correa faces carries mandatory penalties if convicted, including a fine between $5,100 and $10,100 and a prison sentence ranging from 30 days to 15 years, according to legal summaries published by Matt Bodman, P.A. Leaving the scene of a crash that results in great bodily injury is a separate felony, carrying penalties of 30 days to 10 years in prison and fines between $5,000 and $10,000, per legal summaries from William Hodge, Attorney At Law. South Carolina law requires drivers involved in injury crashes to remain at the scene and render aid.
Part of a Broader Pattern on South Carolina Roads
The Conway crash fits into a grim statewide pattern. South Carolina ranked fourth in the nation for pedestrian fatality risk per capita, with nearly 900 pedestrians killed statewide between 2020 and 2024, according to Smart Growth America's “Dangerous by Design 2026” report as relayed by South Carolina Public Radio. Horry County, home to Conway and Coastal Carolina's campus, has recorded nearly 100 pedestrian fatalities over a recent five-year span, including 19 deaths in 2025 alone, per South Carolina Department of Public Safety records cited by The Floyd Law Firm PC.
Whether Palafox-Correa, as a minor, will be prosecuted in juvenile court or as an adult given the severity of the felony charges remains unclear. The precise medical status and recovery outlook for the two injured students has also not been detailed publicly, and a timeline for breaking ground on the planned pedestrian overpass has not been announced.
