TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. (WSAV) — Last year, an estimated 40 to 50 thousand spring-breakers flooded Tybee Island for Orange Crush.
The aftermath included 18 arrests, two damaged police cars and two police officers who had bottles thrown at them.
Tybee leaders announced their plans Thursday, which they said, will hopefully prevent that from happening this year.
“It was crazy. They had like thousands of vehicles coming down trying to get here, lots of traffic, and lots of incidents happening that could have been avoided,” college student Isaiah Scrivens told News 3.
Avoiding all that is exactly what newly elected mayor Brian West says he is trying to do this year by bolstering police presence and blocking side roads off Highway 80.
Scrivens is a rising junior at Ogeechee Tech and attends Orange Crush every year. He says he is grateful that city leaders are looking out for the safety of him and his friends.
“I think that it would actually not only make myself safe but other individuals aware that they are around,” says Scrivens, “and if their presence is here, it’ll make other individuals feel that they would need to do things that are safe.”