HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — Horry County has reached a settlement with the families of two women who died in a sheriff’s office van during Hurricane Florence flooding in 2018.
The county announced the settlement with the families of Wendy Haywood Newton and Nicolette Green, also known as Nicolette French in a statement Tuesday.
“Horry County regrets and acknowledges these tragic deaths, and changes have been implemented to better protect the safety of mental health patients in Horry County,” the county said in a statement. “These changes will help ensure that mental health patients are transported in a more safe and responsible manner.”
Newton and Green died when the Horry County Sheriff’s Office van they were in became submerged in floodwaters that rose on Highway 76 in Marion County after Hurricane Florence. Green and Newton were being moved from two different facilities to McLeod Behavioral Health in Darlington at the time.
Stephen Flood and Joshua Bishop, two former Horry County Sheriff’s deputies, were both indicted in the case. Flood has been charged with two counts each of reckless homicide and involuntary manslaughter. Bishop was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter.
The family of Green previously was awarded $1 million in a settlement reached with the manufacturers of the caged van.
