A Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, police officer has been placed on administrative leave after he killed a woman on the beach while on patrol in his official vehicle Thursday morning.
The woman was hit by an Horry County Police Ford Ranger pickup truck around 1:05 p.m. near the Nash Street Beach Access Area near Springmaid Pier, Fox Carolina reported.
Video and photos obtained by the media showed several beachgoers crowding in front of the truck, and one witness told the media that people were trying to lift the truck off the woman after she became pinned under the wheels of the police vehicle.
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The photo shows the access ramp to Nash Street Beach, near the scene where a woman was struck and killed by an Horry County Police pickup truck on Thursday. (Google Maps)
“I couldn’t hear or see anything until I heard her scream. It was a very powerful scream, something you never hear in the movies. Just pure fear or pain or both,” recalled witness Amanda Bilodeau. “Immediately, I, and I think everyone on the beach, turned around and we started running.”
The South Carolina State Highway Patrol (SCHP) is investigating the accident, Horry County Police said in a Facebook post. SCHP told Fox Carolina the woman was driving off a beach access ramp into the beach when she was struck.
Another passerby, Dennis Miller, told the outlet that beachgoers tried to help the trapped woman. “She was pinned under the car, so some guys came over and did their best to lift the car out,” Miller said.
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The officer driving the car has been placed on administrative leave following the incident, Horry County Police said in a statement. (Horry County Police Department)
“From my vantage point, I had my back turned, and I heard someone yell, ‘Someone’s been run over,'” Miller said. He told WBTW“We ran over here and, yeah, there was a woman on the ground with a truck on top of her.”
“We’re just sad that this happened. We’re just saddened for the woman. This is just an unfortunate accident,” Miller told Fox Carolina.
The victim, whose name has not yet been released pending notification of her family, was taken to Grand Strand Medical Center where she later died from her injuries.
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This isn’t the first fatal accident involving a beachgoer and a police vehicle at an Horry County beach: In 2020, a person lying on a Garden City beach was hit by another Horry County patrol vehicle, according to WBTW.
“What happened yesterday at the beach was a tragedy and we know it has hurt our community,” Horry County Police said in a statement.
“We know our community has questions, and so do we,” police wrote. “The officer involved is currently on administrative leave.”
