UPDATE: Former Myrtle Beach council member arrested for drunk driving, police report says
.jpg "A crash between a speeding black Dodge Charger and a white Ford pickup truck on US 301 sent both drivers to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said. Two passengers in the truck died.")
Former Myrtle Beach Councilman and Ride 4 Chairman William Wayne Gray, 56, was arrested on Wednesday night for DUI, booking records show.
A police report obtained by The Sun News outlines what happened that night.
Gray refused field sobriety tests on the scene and a breath test at the jail, the report said. When asked by a South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper how drunk he was on a scale of one to ten, Gray said he was a two.
The original crash happened at the intersection of 38th Avenue North and Big Block Road when Gray hit the rear of a stopped car and then left the scene, according to the police report.
“The victim followed the defendant and had told the defendant to pull over to have a report taken and the defendant continued to drive,” the report said.
Eventually, Gray pulled into the parking lot of the Marina Inn Hotel, which is when law enforcement showed up.
According to law enforcement records, Gray was arrested by South Carolina Highway Patrol and booked at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center at 11:01 p.m. on Nov. 20 on charges of first offense driving under the influence and a hit and run involving property damage.
He was discharged at 4:14 p.m. the next day, and no bail has been set, according to county booking records.
A message for Gray was left on Friday morning and not returned as of Tuesday morning.
Almost four years ago, on March 26, 2021, Gray was taken into custody on suspicion of drunk driving, previous reporting previous reporting said.
He eventually pled that case down to a lesser charge of careless operation in 2022, records from the county’s Public Index show.
Gray served on the Myrtle Beach City Council for a total of 16 years from 1998 to 2002 and 2006 to 2018.
He most recently ran again for city council in 2019, and did not win.
That same year, Gray applied for the top Horry County job as the County Administrator. He ultimately did not get it.
Gray was the chairman for the Ride 4 Advisory Committee, which wrapped up their work in 2023 and sent their recommendations to the official Ride 4 Committee, according to Horry County spokesperson Mikayla Moskov.
Ride 4 was a ballot measure that was passed by Horry County voters a few weeks ago. According to the measure, a 1% special sales and use tax will be used to fund different road projects, pave dirt roads and enhance mass transit systems in Horry County for the next 25 years, or until they collect $6 billion, whichever comes first.
Gray also previously served as chairman of the board of directors of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.
He currently serves on the the board of directors for the Eastern Carolina Housing Organization in Myrtle Beach.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated to reflect William Wayne Gray’s role as the Ride 4 Advisory Committee chair.
This story was updated on Nov. 26, 2024 to add details from the police report.
This story was originally published November 22, 2024 at 9:35 AM.
