Hilton Head watercraft incident under state investigation, injured loaded into pickup

A video of people at Hilton Head Harbor RV Resort and Marina carting an apparently injured person off the dock and into a personal vehicle triggered an investigation into a May 29 personal watercraft incident, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

The department said it was notified of the incident by video and tipsters six days later, on June 4. Personal watercraft are commonly called by their manufactured names like Jet Ski, Sea-Doo or WaveRunner. SCDNR said it doesn’t have information on how many parties were injured or if it was a single or a double personal watercraft. However, the agency confirmed the watercraft was a rental.

SCDNR said Tuesday it wasn’t notified “by the renting party,” and it doesn’t know which company rented the watercraft. However, Sea Monkeys Watersports operates from the Hilton Head Harbor RV Resort and Marina. If Sea Monkeys Watersports rented the watercraft and didn’t report it to SCDNR, it would be a violation of the law.

According to a SCDNR spokesperson, South Carolina law requires the marina responsible for renting the watercraft to report:

• Accidents without injuries within seven days.

• Accidents involving injuries within 24 hours.

• Accidents with great bodily injury immediately.

The video shows at least four people helping transport an apparently injured person on a flatbed cart up the marina dock and into a red pick-up truck. Neither an ambulance nor law enforcement vehicles are in the video.

SCDNR said there aren’t any charges as of Tuesday, but the investigation is ongoing. Officers were at the marina June 4 for interviews and to gather details surrounding the incident.

Two calls to Sea Monkeys Watersports on Wednesday morning went unanswered. Voicemail was not operational.