Hurricane Florence: 2 Patients Chained in Van Drown While Being Transported by Cops
Source: 10 nbc news
Two female patients at a mental health facility drowned after they became trapped in a police van as it was overcome by floodwaters in South Carolina, authorities said.
Deputies with the Horry County Sheriffs Office were transporting the two women, who have not been identified, to another facility on Highway 76 when they hit rapidly rising floodwaters, Sheriff Phillip Thompson said in a statement.
The women, who were shackled, became trapped inside the vehicle.
"Despite persistent and ongoing efforts, floodwater rose rapidly and the deputies were unable to open the doors to reach the individuals inside the van," Thompson said.
Read more: https://www.wsls.com/inside-edition/hurricane-florence-2-patients-chained-in-van-drown-while-being-transported-by-cops
Updated to confirm identities of the two women.
The Marion County coroner has identified the two women who drowned in a Horry County sheriffs van on Tuesday night.
They are Nicolette Green, 43, of Myrtle Beach and Windy Newton, 45, of Shallotte, N.C., coroner Jerry Richardson said.
Green and Newton were being transported from Conway to Darlington, according to the Horry County Sheriffs Office. The two deputies involved were put on administrative leave, the sheriffs office announced on Wednesday.
Read more here: https://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/article218651605.html#storylink=cpy
irisblue
(32,982 posts)bronxiteforever
(9,287 posts)NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)TheBlackAdder
(28,209 posts)Reece2076
(51 posts)irisblue
(32,982 posts)"The two women, being shackled in the car, could not extricate themselves.
Neither patient has been identified, though the coroner in a neighboring county has confirmed they were female."
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/407376-two-mental-health-patients-drown-in-hurricane-florence-flooding?amp&__twitter_impression=true
Response to Reece2076 (Reply #4)
irisblue This message was self-deleted by its author.
iluvtennis
(19,863 posts)riversedge
(70,244 posts)Tommy_Carcetti
(43,184 posts)If not murder, manslaughter at the very least.
geardaddy
(24,931 posts)deurbano
(2,895 posts)https://heavy.com/news/2018/09/nicolette-green-wendy-wenton/
"Newton, 45, was from Shallotte, North Carolina, and Green, 43, was from Myrtle Beach. Greenville Online reports that neither woman had a criminal record. The pair were killed in the town of Nichols, South Carolina, along Highway 76 south of Nichols in Marion County."
bronxiteforever
(9,287 posts)Greens sister paid tribute in a heartbreaking Facebook post. That post details Greens battle with depression for twenty years. She was the mother of three children and had one child, Otto, pass away from bone cancer. Green sister wrote, Our only comfort is that we know she is in Heaven with her son and that she is now at peace. Greens sister added, The officers were on what appears to be a completely closed off, flooded road. Why they decided to try to drive through is beyond me. But it cost us my sister. She didnt deserve to have her life ended this way. She was seeking help. She trusted people and they killed her.
IADEMO2004
(5,555 posts)If true hell to pay.
elmac
(4,642 posts)and the tax payers better grab their socks because there will be a very substantial lawsuit
efhmc
(14,731 posts)IADEMO2004
(5,555 posts)Nitram
(22,822 posts)should have risked their lives to get the women out instead of getting to safety themselves.
Bernardo de La Paz
(49,011 posts)discntnt_irny_srcsm
(18,479 posts)MsLeopard
(1,265 posts)We are so fucked.
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)The cops were just stupid and not trained for the situation. They should not have been chained, or the cops should never have left the vehicle without first releasing them. It wasn't intentional. Just very stupid.
discntnt_irny_srcsm
(18,479 posts)...and that is the indifference of good men."
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)They should never have been chained, in the first place, given the circumstances, unless they were violent.
We don't have all the info yet.
discntnt_irny_srcsm
(18,479 posts)...last I read, they were not in any restraints other than being locked in the van. My point is several people were (or at least should have been) involved in that chain of events. Doctors signed transfer orders. Some department with the logistical authority decided transferring folks during flash flooding was okay. A pair of deputies drove whatever route on their own or with direction of whoever did or should have made those decisions. Pardon the expression but this whole thing smacks a giant charlie foxtrot kind of operation where all the supposed smart folks had tunnel vision. Either one of my daughters would have known most of the steps in this deadly disaster were stupid by age 10.
BlancheSplanchnik
(20,219 posts)As a lifetime depression sufferer, my heart is in pain for them...just trying to get mental health care. Why would they be shackled in the first place? Horrific. 😪
LuvNewcastle
(16,847 posts)It doesn't look like the women had any sort of record. This doesn't look right to me.