A birthday celebration for two friends ended tragically when a bartender allegedly pushed a woman down stairs, resulting in fatal injuries outside Coot’s Bar & Grill on Edisto Island, South Carolina. Mary Lopez Hunt, 68, has been charged with voluntary manslaughter and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, according to Colleton County court records.
Ruth Peterson, a friend of the victim, Joyce Tomlinson, 62, recounted the incident to Fox News Digital on October 1, 2026, just before the one-year anniversary of Tomlinson's death. Peterson stated that she had gone to retrieve their car while Tomlinson was settling their tab at the bar around 11 p.m. on October 3, 2025.
Peterson described witnessing Tomlinson exchange words with another woman at the top of the stairs. She stated, "Next thing I know, Joyce had turned around to head back down [the stairs], and this woman runs at her, and with both hands just pushes her, and she just sailed." Peterson noted that Tomlinson fell headfirst onto a concrete slab.
After the incident, Peterson rushed to Tomlinson, who was unresponsive and bleeding. Tomlinson was transported to a hospital by helicopter and died three weeks later.
Hunt, the bartender, claimed that Tomlinson had been belligerent and was asked to leave before the incident occurred. Authorities found Tomlinson lying on the pavement when they arrived at the scene.
Peterson described Tomlinson as a “meek and mild” person and expressed disbelief that she would initiate a fight. The two friends had known each other for 50 years and had planned to celebrate their 60th birthdays together.
At Tomlinson’s funeral, friends and family remembered her as “a loving mom” and “a trustworthy friend.” Hunt was initially released on a $100,000 bond for each charge, but her bond was later revoked, and she was taken back into custody at the Colleton County Jail. The reason for the bond revocation was not immediately clear. Fox News Digital attempted to contact Coot’s Bar & Grill for comment, and Hunt’s attorney could not be reached.