Man sues Surfside Beach, claims missing stop sign caused car crash
A man is suing the town of Surfside Beach, saying a missing stop sign caused him to get into a car wreck.
The lawsuit claims Surfside Beach town officials knew a stop sign was missing from the intersection of 2nd Avenue North and Azalea Drive and failed to replace it or warn drivers about the dangerous intersection.
Jonathan Neill said he was driving east on 2nd Avenue North on Oct. 12, 2020, approaching the intersection of Azalea Drive in Surfside Beach. As he began to cross the intersection, he collided with another car driving south on Azalea Drive.
Neill, an Horry County resident, filed the lawsuit in Horry County court on Monday.
The car wreck left Neill with a damaged car and minor bodily injury, according to the lawsuit.
The car wreck would not have happened had the stop sign been replaced, the lawsuit states.
Surfside Beach town officials knew that the stop sign was missing from the intersection and “failed to take adequate measures to remedy the dangerous condition of the intersection,” according to the filing.
The town had received “actual and/or constructive notice” that the stop sign in question had been missing.
The lawsuit states that Surfside Beach neglected its duty to drivers of maintaining and replacing the stop sign to prevent car crashes.
When called by a reporter, Surfside Beach Mayor Bob Hellyer said he did not know about the lawsuit.
Hellyer directed The Sun News to seek comment from Bill Shanahan, town administrator of Surfside Beach. Shanahan was not immediately available for comment.
Neill asked for an unspecified amount of money in damages.
He says in the lawsuit that the town of Surfside Beach is responsible for “creating a dangerous condition” by “failing to make the intersection safe for use.”
In the lawsuit, Neill states that the town neglected to enact safety measures that a “prudent person” would have done.
