Horry County responds to lawsuit from family of woman who drowned in transport van
Horry County blames other people for the events that led to the drowning deaths of mental health patients in the back of a Sheriff’s Office transport van during Hurricane Florence.
The county made that claim as part of its answer to a civil lawsuit filed by the family of one of the women killed in September 2018.
In December, the family of Nikki Green filed a wrongful death suit in federal court against Horry County, the Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Phillip Thompson and deputies Elizabeth Orlando, Stephen Flood and Joshua Bishop for their roles in the drowning.
Green and Wendy Newton were mental health transport patients under orders to be moved from local facilities to other care centers in South Carolina. The orders were in September 2018 in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence as hundreds of roads in the county were blocked by floodwaters.
Bishop and Flood drove the van with Newton and Green locked in a cage in the back. Outside of Nichols, the two drove around a National Guard barricade and into floodwaters. The van was swept off the road and pinned against a guardrail.
Bishop freed himself and tried to rescue the women in the back, but was unsuccessful. He then helped Flood, who was the driver, from the vehicle and the two waited on the roof for rescue.
Newton and Green drowned inside as the floodwaters rose.
The two deputies were then criminally charged and their cases remain active.
The Newton family filed the first civil lawsuit over the deaths, with the Green family filing a similar case months later. The Green family’s filing states not only are Flood and Bishop responsible, but so is the county for removing an exit and installing a cage inside the transport vehicle.
Last week, Horry County and the Horry County Sheriff’s Office, together, answered the lawsuit and denied many of the allegations except for basic facts. Horry County admitted it owned the van and it did make modifications to it, including installing the cage in the back.
The county also listed several possible defenses, claiming that any harm to the Green family was caused by a third party. The county did not name the other parties.
Horry County asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit.
