‘We got a great loss’: North Myrtle Beach cop dies in crash while responding to call
A North Myrtle Beach police sergeant died in a car crash while responding to a call Friday morning.
Sgt. Gordon William Best, 30, died in the wreck on Highway 17 around 4 a.m., according to the North Myrtle Beach Police Department. The officer was responding to a shots fired call near Barefoot Resort when he lost control of his cruiser and hit a utility pole.
Best is the first North Myrtle Beach police officer to die while serving the community.
“Our community is devastated,” Mayor Marilyn Hatley said. “This is the first police officer that we have ever lost in the history of our city.”
Best joined the department in October 2013 and was promoted to sergeant in February 2019.
The officer drove south on U.S. 17 when he went into the northbound lanes and hit a pole, according to the department. The crash happened near Windy Hill Rd and 37th Ave South.
The South Carolina Highway Patrol Multi-Disciplinary Accident Instigation Team is investigating the wreck. Best was driving a police department SUV and he died at the scene, according to South Carolina Highway Patrol Cpl. Sonny Collins. Officials noted the roads were wet from overnight storms at the time of the crash.
North Myrtle Beach Fire Rescue, Horry County police, and Myrtle Beach police responded to the scene.
“We ask all to pray for Sergeant Gordon Best and his family,” North Myrtle Beach police wrote in a Facebook post.
Who was Sgt. Best?
Both of Best’s parents worked for, and retired from, the North Myrtle Beach police department. He grew up in the department serving as an intern and patrol officer before becoming a night-shift supervisor. North Myrtle Beach police was the only agency he served. Officials asked the public to allow Best’s family time to grieve.
North Myrtle Beach police Chief Tommy Dennis said he and Best talked days ago about further promotions in the agency.
“I told him he was a rising star,” Dennis said at a Friday morning news conference with other city officials. “We got a great loss in our department.”
Dennis said he got a phone call about the crash shortly after 4 a.m. and his thoughts went to Best’s wife, two children, family and fellow officers.
“We’re his family too,” Dennis said.
Dennis described Best as a “by-the-book” officer who was very intelligent. He also saw many things as ‘black-and-white.”
“Just an all-around good guy, just well-liked by everyone,” Dennis said. “There is so much I got that I can’t even begin to start.”
Hatley said she got a phone call from the city manager around 4 a.m. and was told about Best’s death. She added it’s the one phone call that no mayor or city official wants to receive.
“My first reaction was shock. It was just very sad,” Hatley said. “I was just devastated.”
Killed in the line of duty
Best is the third active-duty police officer along the Grand Strand to die in recent months.
On Oct. 3, Myrtle Beach police officer Jacob Hancher died while responding to a domestic call at Yaupon Drive and 14th Avenue South. The officer was shot and killed by a suspect, who later died in the shooting.
Hancher was a police officer for just months before he was shot and killed.
In August, Horry County police Cpl. Michael Ambrosino died from coronavirus-related complications. He was a 30-year law enforcement veteran who was most known for his time on beach patrol.
This story was originally published January 1, 2021 at 8:32 AM.
