Photo: CBS News
Floods in South Carolina, caused by the heavy rains brought by Hurricane Florence, have claimed 2 more lives. This time, they’re also causing controversy, because the victims are 2 mental health patients who drowned in the back of a sheriff’s van.
ABC News4 reports that, on Tuesday night, 2 sheriffs from the Horry County Sheriff’s Office, were tasked with transporting 2 female patients from Loris Hospital and Waccamaw Center for Mental Health to McLeod Health.
The van was traveling on an area near Little Pee Dee River, when waters surged and pushed the van off the road. As waters surged, the sheriffs realized there was no way they continue their journey by van; if anything, staying in the van was putting them at risk.
In a statement to the media outlet, the Sheriff’s Office says that “despite persistent and ongoing efforts,” the sheriffs weren’t able to free the women inside. When a high-water rescue team arrived on the scene, the 2 sheriffs were on top of the van and the women still inside, dead.
Initial reports said that the women were in chained restraints, but the Sheriff’s Office is disputing them. The sheriffs were taken to the hospital and evaluated, and then placed on administrative leave until the ongoing investigation concludes.
As of yesterday, the van still hadn’t been retrieved.
“We are currently working with the SCDNR to recover the vehicle,” Horry County Sheriff Phillip Thompson says. “Due to dangerous conditions and rising waters, additional search and rescue teams are arriving to assist in the recovery of the vehicle.”
The identity of the 2 women has been made public, along with assurances from the Sheriff’s Office that they were not, contrary to reports, shackled in the back of the van when the flood came.
Hurricane Florence started off as a Category 4 major hurricane but was downgraded to tropical storm right before it hit mainland in North and South Carolina. As of the time of writing, over 40 people have died and thousands have been displaced.
The van was traveling on an area near Little Pee Dee River, when waters surged and pushed the van off the road. As waters surged, the sheriffs realized there was no way they continue their journey by van; if anything, staying in the van was putting them at risk.
In a statement to the media outlet, the Sheriff’s Office says that “despite persistent and ongoing efforts,” the sheriffs weren’t able to free the women inside. When a high-water rescue team arrived on the scene, the 2 sheriffs were on top of the van and the women still inside, dead.
Initial reports said that the women were in chained restraints, but the Sheriff’s Office is disputing them. The sheriffs were taken to the hospital and evaluated, and then placed on administrative leave until the ongoing investigation concludes.
As of yesterday, the van still hadn’t been retrieved.
“We are currently working with the SCDNR to recover the vehicle,” Horry County Sheriff Phillip Thompson says. “Due to dangerous conditions and rising waters, additional search and rescue teams are arriving to assist in the recovery of the vehicle.”
The identity of the 2 women has been made public, along with assurances from the Sheriff’s Office that they were not, contrary to reports, shackled in the back of the van when the flood came.
Hurricane Florence started off as a Category 4 major hurricane but was downgraded to tropical storm right before it hit mainland in North and South Carolina. As of the time of writing, over 40 people have died and thousands have been displaced.
Following the tragedy of last night’s high-water incident, Sheriff Thompson released the following information. pic.twitter.com/xpirs67W6E
— Horry County Sheriff (@horrysheriff) September 19, 2018
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