Update: Man leaves bar, crashes into North Myrtle Beach store and drives off, police say
Correction: A former version of this article misrepresented where the shop is located. It is in North Myrtle Beach. (Updated 10:54 a.m. Nov. 11, 2024)
A man allegedly crashed into the front of a beach boutique and rental equipment shop overnight Saturday in North Myrtle Beach, destroying furniture and cracking a window.
The man told police that he had left a bar when the crashed happened.
Earl Sears, 66, has been accused of damaging the front of Cherry Grove Beach Services after driving home from a bar, according to a North Myrtle Beach Police report. No one was injured.
Security footage showed the North Carolina man paying his tab before leaving in his car around 12:20 a.m. He made a left turn on to Main Street from Hillside Drive and ended up on the sidewalk, the report said.
Sears ran into Mainstreet Bakery and Eatery’s picnic table and rocking chairs, which were on the sidewalk, and pushed the furniture into the front of Cherry Grove Beach Services. The front window and doors of the shop were broken. The picnic table was destroyed and the front door was cracked open with multiple holes.
Kim Perkins, the owner of the bakery, came in around 3:30 a.m., saw the damage and called the police, as well as Derek Calhoun, owner of Cherry Grove Beach Services, Calhoun said.
If it wasn’t for the table, the car may have driven farther into the restaurant, Calhoun said. He and his wife were able to clean the glass and open on Saturday. Cherry Grove Beach Services will remain open during repairs.
“It could’ve been a lot worse,” Calhoun said.
North Myrtle Beach Police arrested Sears on Nov. 10 for two counts of striking fixtures upon or adjacent to a highway and a driver leaving the scene of an accident. He was released the next day after paying a $1,500 bond, according to court records.
Sears told police he remembered driving home but did not remember the accident.
The accident happened a day after Cherry Grove Beach Services announced its Beach Express Shops, which will offer beach equipment rental at the Ocean Drive Pavilion, Harold’s on the Ocean and Ocean Drive Beach and Golf Resort.
Two years ago, Cherry Grove Beach Services sued the city of North Myrtle Beach and accused the city of having a monopoly on beach rental equipment setup on the beach. In September, a judge sided with the city and said it was legally allowed to have a monopoly on beach chair and umbrella set up.
Cherry Grove Beach Services incurred over $20,000 worth of fines after they continued to set up beach chairs and umbrellas for patrons despite being told to stop by the city, The Sun News previously reported.
This story was originally published November 10, 2024 at 1:03 PM.
