# Update - Detainees Drown During Transport  Deputies Charged With Manslaughter



## Transformer (Sep 19, 2018)

Accident or Not?
I don’t think this was accidental.


CONWAY, S.C. – Two people being transported in a sheriff’s office van in South Carolina died Tuesday when the vehicle was overcome by floodwaters, the Horry County Sheriff's Office confirmed.

The vehicle, staffed by two Horry County deputies, was transporting two detainees from Conway to Darlington and was traveling west on Highway 76 around a half mile from the Little Pee Dee River when the vehicle was overtaken by flooding from Hurricane Florence, according to an emailed statement from the sheriff's office.

The two deputies "attempted to extricate the persons being transported," the agency said in its statement.

The Associated Press reported the detainees were two women. Their names have not been released.

More: Florence aftermath: Flooding leaves residents seeking food, water

"Despite persistent and ongoing efforts, floodwater rose rapidly and the deputies were unable to open the doors to reach the individuals inside the van," the sheriff's office's statement said.


High-water rescue teams arrived and were able to rescue the two deputies from the top of the van, according to the statement.

"At this time, the recovery effort is ongoing, and the transportation vehicle cannot be removed due to rising waters and dangerous conditions," the sheriff's office said.


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## Transformer (Sep 19, 2018)

The dead people area two mental health patients


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## LaFaraona (Sep 20, 2018)

Weird story.
 Since the 2 detainees were mental health workers I this leads me to think that they were detained for abusing people under their care. could this have been pre-meditated revenge?


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## Transformer (Sep 20, 2018)

LaFaraona said:


> Weird story.
> Since the 2 detainees were mental health workers I this leads me to think that they were detained for abusing people under their care. could this have been pre-meditated revenge?




I'm sorry-they were patients not workers.


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## LaFaraona (Sep 20, 2018)

Transformer said:


> I'm sorry-they were patients not workers.



Ok. I still do find the whole situation weird. 
why were mental health patients detained? many questions. More info needs to be provided.


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## Pat Mahurr (Sep 20, 2018)

They were patients and they were white, so it probably was accidental. They were being transported from one facility to another. — a service sometimes provided by the police.

Tragic nonetheless.  Drowning is a horrible way to die, and the poor women knew it was happening.  They were talking with their would-be rescuers as the van was sinking.


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## nysister (Sep 22, 2018)

Wow that's horrible.

Do you know why the deputies couldn't open the doors? I assume they were the ones transporting them.



Pat Mahurr said:


> They were patients and they were white, so it probably was accidental. They were being transported from one facility to another. — a service sometimes provided by the police.
> 
> Tragic nonetheless.  Drowning is a horrible way to die, and the poor women knew it was happening.  They were talking with their would-be rescuers as the van was sinking.


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## Pat Mahurr (Sep 22, 2018)

No, I don’t know.  Apparently, the van was submerged. The officers had to be rescued from the roof of the van.   I’m guessing also that the doors of the van would open only from the outside, but that’s just a guess.  If submerged, maybe the electrical system/locks failed?


nysister said:


> Wow that's horrible.
> 
> Do you know why the deputies couldn't open the doors? I assume they were the ones transporting them.


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## nyeredzi (Oct 1, 2018)

The NYT had a fuller story on this. Why they *had* to be transported during the storm? No one can say. The cops drove down a flooded street, so it was their mistake. But as a commenter said, they are used to driving wherever they want and doing whatever they want, this time it just turned out tragic. They were voluntarily being committed. It should have been postponed until after the flood. Yes, they are white, but they also have mental problems, so crazy people can get some of that police work too. They say they were not handcuffed in there, but doubts remain. What a terrifying death. Yet another senseless loss of life in America.


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## Transformer (Oct 4, 2018)

nyeredzi said:


> The NYT had a fuller story on this. Why they *had* to be transported during the storm? No one can say. The cops drove down a flooded street, so it was their mistake. But as a commenter said, they are used to driving wherever they want and doing whatever they want, this time it just turned out tragic. They were voluntarily being committed. It should have been postponed until after the flood. Yes, they are white, but they also have mental problems, so crazy people can get some of that police work too. They say they were not handcuffed in there, but doubts remain. What a terrifying death. Yet another senseless loss of life in America.



Wow.  I didn't know folks that were voluntarily committed are driven to the hospital by LE.

Question:  Why would they not have been handcuffed?  One mental ill person could decide to take out the other person in the van.  I understand not handcuffing it they are not alone in the van.


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## nyeredzi (Oct 4, 2018)

Transformer said:


> Wow.  I didn't know folks that were voluntarily committed are driven to the hospital by LE.
> 
> Question:  Why would they not have been handcuffed?  One mental ill person could decide to take out the other person in the van.  I understand not handcuffing it they are not alone in the van.


It seems like it was not protocol to handcuff them. They weren't arrested,  they weren't being violent. They deny that they did handcuff them.


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## Transformer (Jan 4, 2019)

Two South Carolina deputies tasked with transporting two detainees during Hurricane Florence have been charged with manslaughter. The deputies were accused of abandoning the women in the back of a police van, where they drowned in rising floodwaters.

Stephen Flood and Joshua Bishop, both Horry County sheriff’s deputies, turned themselves in on Friday morning before a bond hearing at 9 a.m. at which family members of the deceased gave testimony, according to a reporter on the scene.

Both of the deputies were charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of Nicolette Green, 43, and Wendy Newton, 45, who died on Sept. 18, 2018, according to The Daily Beast. Flood faces an additional two charges of reckless homicide, accused of driving directly into danger despite knowing the risk.


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## 1QTPie (Jan 4, 2019)

All of this could have been avoided if they did even the minimal of what was expected of them.


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## Transformer (Jan 4, 2019)

If they are going to prosecute the Black lady for the death of her son, then these guys too.


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