Georgia cops and volunteers clean up Tybee Island beach after raucous spring break partying during the Orange Crush event

Volunteers and Tybee Island officials have spent the past two days cleaning up their beach after wild spring-breakers trashed it over the weekend leaving mounds of litter ready to float into the ocean. 

On Saturday, more than 6,000 partiers crowded the small, 3-mile-long island for the annual Orange Crush event and inflicted an estimated $220,000 of costs on the community. The costs include damage and clean-up costs and can be billed to event promoters. 

During the boisterous party, which is part of a tradition created by students from Savannah State University more than 30 years ago, attendees left the idyllic beach littered with trash.

A video uploaded to TikTok documented the vast amount of trash that had been strewn along Tybee Island's beach - Georgia's largest public beach.

Other wild videos from the Orange Crush showed massive brawls between attendees. Despite the shocking footage, state officials were quick to say this year's event went 'fairly well.'

Tybee Island lifeguards and some Orange Crush attendees gathered on the beach Sunday morning to begin cleaning up the beach, which was trashed during the event

The Orange Crush event inflicted an estimated $220,000-worth of costs on the small resort town of Tybee Island

Tybee Island's beach, the largest public beach in Georgia, was littered will all sorts of trash during the annual Orange Crush spring break event

In one viral video, empty beer cans and liquor bottles, as well as other debris, stretched along the sand and were washed into the ocean. Hundreds of people were along the coastline with the trash, but few seemed to be doing any cleaning. 

The video elicited angry responses from some viewers as one commenter wrote: 'Wow, it's not hard to use the trashcan.'

And another person offered this stern rebuke: 'If you can't respect the beach, stay away from the beach.'

On Sunday morning, members of Tybee Island Ocean Rescue and some Orange Crush attendees gathered along the beach, where they worked together to pick up the trash left by the partiers.

But the lifeguards and the attendees had their work cut out for them and the clean-up continued into Monday.

Tybee Island Ocean Rescue posted a message to their Facebook that thanked 'everyone who helped the Ocean Rescue lifeguards pick up trash yesterday afternoon!'

According to the post, the lifeguards and volunteers removed more than ten-carts worth of trash from the shoreline.

The clean-up ended up lasting longer than anticipated, beginning Sunday morning and ending Monday 

After the clean-up finished, the Tybee Island Ocean Rescue shared on Facebook that they had removed 10+ cartloads of trash from the shoreline

During the Orange Crush, the length of the beach was strewn with litter, some of which was washed into the ocean

Pictures of the clean-up were also posted, in which the lifeguards could be seen directing the operation. The photos also showed conscientious partiers stooping down in their swimsuits and putting the refuse in plastic bags.

A picture of the bags of trash heaped up in the back of an ocean rescue vehicle drove home just how much litter was on the beach.

Although initial estimates put the total cost on the community at $215,000 to $220,000, Brian West, the mayor of Tybee Island, believes that the actual cost is much more. 

The estimated costs include damages and clean up.

Thanks to a recently approved piece of legislation, Georgia communities are able to hold the promoters of unpermitted events, like Orange Crush, financially liable for any costs.

Mayor West told WTOC11 that one of the promoters had already been held already been served.

'We identified one of the promoters this weekend and they have already been served. So, we’ve already taken a step towards collecting what we’ve spent,' West said.

The event occurs every year and is predominantly composed of college students

Although state and local officials have been adamant that the event was an orderly affair, video posted on X.com showed a massive brawl take place on the beach's boardwalk

Orange Crush happens annually. This year, 6,000 attendees descended on Tybee Island for their spring-break bash

Despite the severity and extent of the damages, the mayor maintained that this year's Orange Crush was a tamer event than last year's.

'I feel like we had the true student body, you know, this year. And it was a pleasant experience for us here on Tybee.'

A video recorded during this year's Orange Crush captured the shocking moment when a fight erupted on the beach's boardwalk.

In the video, several women violently punch and scratch each other - and several have their tops fly off. 

The out-of-control scene led some on social media to ask 'When did Tybee Island become such a s*** show?' 

The video of the fight, which has almost 65,000 views on X.com, showed the women pummeling one another while other revelers flank the boardwalk's length and cheer the fighters. 

Amid the brawl, some of the women had their tops pulled down or pushed out of place. Some of the women stopped fighting and attempted to clothe themselves. Another woman, in a green swimsuit, could be seen continuing to fight, even after her breasts were revealed.

In one horrific moment, a shorter woman with fire orange hair pulled another woman down to the ground by her hair and then started beating her before being pulled away by other women.

Later in the video, the same woman with orange hair threw a punch at a woman in a green bikini that was so violent it momentarily snapped the other woman's head back.

Throughout the nearly two-and-a-half-minute long video, men and women applaud and shout enthusiastically as the women on the boardwalk exchange blows.

Some of the combatants could be seen stepping away from the fracas, dazed and trying to repair their hair.

The city of Tybee endeavored to prevent a repeat of last year's Orange Crush, which drew more than 100,000 partiers to the small ocean resort

At last year's Orange Crush, the city's police force was severely overstrained and struggled to address the reports of gunfire, fist fights and drug overdose

Toward the end of the video, a man appeared to be running beside the boardwalk, swinging a woman's torn extensions around in the air. 

Commenters on the video expressed incredulity at the violent scene. One commenter expressed their surprise that the women were the ones who were fighting: 'So what I gather is that girls are more aggressive than guys.'

And one person wrote: 'I thought they shut Orange Crush down because of this.'

This year's Orange Crush drew over 6,000 partiers to Tybee Island, a majority of whom were college students from HBCUs.

Despite the chaotic footage circulating online, state and local officials said Saturday's event was a calm affair.

Speaking with WSAV3, Major Bob Holley of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources said: 'The behavior has been pretty good today. We’ve responded to a few medical calls with the Tybee medical authorities and that’s pretty much the extent of what we’ve done today.'

Before the big celebration got underway on Saturday, the city of Tybee took precautions to try to prevent a repeat of last year's Orange Crush, at which event, more than 100,000 partiers descended on the three-mile island.

The city's police force was severely overstrained and struggled to address the reports of gunfire, fist fights and drug overdoses during the 2023 event. 

Chatham County refused to rent out the pier's pavilion, where many out-of-control partiers gathered last year.

In an interview with WTOC11, a local news outlet, Tybee's Interim City Manager, Michelle Owens, said the pier had been 'locked down to be a staging area for law enforcement.'

Thanks to new legislation, Georgia officials can hold promoters financially responsible for unpermitted events, such as Orange Crush. Tybee Island Mayor Brian West said that one of the promoters has already been served

Although footage of the fighting spring-breakers quickly gained traction online, there were other videos of revelers peacefully lounging on the beach, enjoying their vacation time.

One Orange Crush attendee explained to WSAV3 that the violent partiers are not indicative of the entire group.

'We just get together and want to have fun. The little rotten apples, we throw them away,' Bailo Diallo said.

'There’s a couple of people here and there but that don’t define everybody.'