CONWAY, SC — Authorities in Horry County have recovered a van they said was swept away in floodwaters last week, killing two female mental health patients who were being transported in the back. Two deputies in the van managed to free themselves, but were unable to open the doors and reach the two patients, the sheriff’s office previously said.
An investigation by state police is continuing and, “just like you, we have questions we want answered,” Horry County Sheriff Phillip Thompson said in a statement.
He added: “We hope we will be provided those answers through the ongoing inquiries in the very near future.”
The two women are among at least 43 people who have died as a result of Hurricane Florence, which has caused damage in the $50 billion range across the Carolinas, placing it among the 10 most costly hurricanes in U.S. history.
More flooding is coming in South Carolina as five rivers that reach the Atlantic Ocean are expected to cause widespread flooding in the coming days. So much water is headed toward South Carolina that it is backing up other rivers that aren’t flooding, forecasters warn.
And still more rain is coming: The National Hurricane Center said a broad area of low pressure about 300 miles south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, is producing showers and thunderstorms on its north side. Forecasters said it could become a tropical depression Tuesday as it approaches the coast, and will dump rain regardless on coastal areas of North and South Carolina.
Thompson said in the statement his department is cooperating with a State Law Enforcement Division investigation into the Sept. 18 incident that resulted in the deaths of the two patients, as well as conducting its own internal investigation. He called the deaths of the two women “unfortunate.”
The deputy driving the van lost control in the fast water and it quickly became submerged. The two women were being transported from Conway to Darlington, and were about a half mile from the Little Pee Dee River when it flooded.
The van was recovered and impounded about 2:30 p.m. Monday by the State Law Enforcement Division, with the assistance of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.
Image: Floodwaters from the Cape Fear River cover Water St. in downtown Wilmington, N.C., Sunday, Sept. 23, 2018. (Matt Born/The Star-News via AP)
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