BEAUFORT, S.C. (Dec. 16, 2025) – A 25-year-old Hilton Head Island man who killed another motorist while evading police has been sent to prison.
Esteban Javier Rosa-Mendez of Hilton Head Island pleaded guilty Tuesday to reckless vehicular homicide and failure to stop for a blue light resulting in death. In 2020, Rosa-Mendez ran through a red light at the intersection of Gum Tree Road and William Hilton Parkway, killing 22-year-old Colton Poirot of Hilton Head Island.
A General Sessions Court jury had been seated and opening arguments delivered when Rosa-Mendez changed his mind and decided to enter his plea. He received a 20-year sentence.
“The defendant’s deliberate disregard for the safety of everyone on the road cost Colton Poirot his life,” said Jared Shedd of the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, who prosecuted the case. “Our office is committed to holding offenders accountable for such recklessness, and we are grateful to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and S.C. Highway Patrol investigators who helped us do that. We hope the outcome brings a measure of comfort to Colton’s family, as well.”
On March 2, 2020, a Beaufort County Sheriff’s deputy attempted to stop a red 2013 Toyota Corolla for speeding on William Hilton Parkway. The deputy activated his blue lights after the driver, Rosa-Mendez, turned onto Squire Pope Road. However, Rosa-Mendez refused to pull over. Instead, he accelerated and weaved through traffic, prompting deputies to end the pursuit due to the risk to other motorists.
Nonetheless, Rosa-Mendez continued south on Squire Pope Road at a high rate of speed, turning onto Gum Tree Road. As he approached the intersection at William Hilton Parkway, near where the chase was initiated, he was traveling 81 mph in a 45-mph zone.
Witnesses said Rosa-Mendez’s passengers were yelling at him to slow down just before the crash. However, he ran through a red light and into the path of a 2011 Mitsubishi sedan driven by Poirot as he traveled west on William Hilton Parkway. A data recorder showed Rosa-Mendez was still traveling about 80 mph at the time of impact, and Poirot’s car was pushed through the intersection, into another vehicle.
One of Rosa-Mendez’s passengers suffered injuries that required her jaw to be wired shut. Another passenger told officers that after the crash Rosa-Mendez urged the occupants to say they did not remember anything.
Rosa-Mendez’s criminal record dates to 2019 and includes convictions for marijuana possession, failure to stop for a blue light and four separate instances of driving under suspension.
Circuit Court Judge Robert Bonds handed down the sentence.
Shedd is a member of the Career Criminal Unit, which prosecutes the circuit’s most violent and habitual offenders. That team has earned convictions against 536 of the 589 defendants it has prosecuted since its inception in 2009.
Esteban Javier Rosa-Mendez
