Horry County Police is asking for the dismissal of a lawsuit that alleges it is responsible for the June death of a beachgoer who was run over and killed by one of its officers.
The family of Sandra “Sandy” Schultz-Peters filed a wrongful death lawsuit on June 28, 2024, against the Horry County Police Department claiming negligence against the department and its beach safety director at the time, Julian “Duke” Brown, who was operating a beach patrol truck on the beach.
Brown is accused of running over Schultz-Peters, 66, of Myrtle Beach, who was sitting on the beach at the time and later died.
Brown retired July 26, according to a text from Horry County spokesperson Mikayla Moskov. The South Carolina Highway Patrol is investigating the crash and no charges have been brought against Brown.
In Horry County Police’s response to the lawsuit, it admits that it operates the county beach patrol and that Duke Brown was operating “his beach patrol unit when he struck Ms. Schultz-Peters on the beach near the Nash Street Beach Access” on June 13, 2024.
However, it denies additional allegations, including the usage of full-size trucks on the beach, that beach patrol officers had run over beachgoers prior to June 13, and that Brown had previously run over a beachgoer’s personal items, including beach chairs, with his vehicle while performing his duties as the beach safety director.
The response also denies the allegations that Brown was “negligent, reckless, willful and wanton” and that he failed to keep the vehicle under proper control, driving a full-sized motor vehicle on a public beach without ensuring the path of travel was clear of beachgoers and driving while distracted.
“Even if the defendant was negligent, as alleged in the complaint, which is specifically denied, the negligence of the defendant was not the direct or proximate cause of any injury alleged by the plaintiff and therefore, the defendant is not liable for any damages allegedly sustained by the plaintiff,” the response says.
What led to beachgoer’s death?
The SCHP said in a release that the accident happened about 1:07 p.m. on the beach near the Nash Street beach access in the Myrtle Beach area.
The officer was traveling northbound from Nash Street onto the beach when the beachgoer was struck.
A photo believed to show the woman sitting on the beach and the Horry County Police truck nearby was captured just moments before the accident occurred. The photo was taken at 1 p.m. June 13 and the accident occurred at 1:07 p.m., according to SCHP.
Witnesses, who helped to lift the truck off of Schultz-Peters, said the officer in the truck also helped and rendered aid to the woman.
Officer no longer with department
Brown was placed on paid administrative leave while the South Carolina Highway Patrol investigated the crash and retired a month after the deadly accident.
The Aug. 6 agenda for the Horry County Public Safety Committee asked for Brown’s service weapon to be declared surplus property and given to him for his years of service. The process is routine for retiring officers.
Brown was with the Horry County Police since 1988 — most recently as its beach safety director.
Brown was disciplined for an accident that occurred in 2011 in Surfside Beach, according to his personnel file that was received by the Sun News through a Freedom of Information Act request. During that accident, Brown was responding to an emergency call when he struck a fence while attempting to avoid pedestrians, according to a discipline report.
The report said Brown was responding to a downed aircraft on the beach, and while entering on to the beach through the beach access, he had to avoid the pedestrians at the entrance of the access.
The report does not state that he ran over a beachgoer’s items.
Brown violated a police policy of careless, negligent or improper use of county equipment or property, the report said. Brown received a written reprimand and counseling.
Four years ago, another person was hit by an Horry County Police vehicle in 2020 in the Surfside Beach area, The Sun News reported.
One person was taken to the hospital after an incident near Holly Avenue. According to police reports, Officer Scott Sullivan hit the 69-year-old woman who was laying on the beach.
The officer told SCHP that he was entering the beach from a beach access point and didn’t see the woman due to trash cans obstructing his view, according to a police report.
