South Carolina rep wants police trucks banned from beaches in wake of death

Law enforcement in South Carolina is scaling back the use of trucks for patrols on beaches after the death of a 66-year-old woman who was struck and killed this month by an officer driving a patrol truck while she lay on Myrtle Beach. In response, a state lawmaker said he will propose legislation that would ban large police vehicles on the sand except in the case of emergencies.

Rep. William Bailey, R-S.C., revealed his plan to Fox News on Thursday, June 27.

“It is indefensible to tell me that you need to have a full-size truck there, when you have people laying on towels,” Bailey said.

Bailey said that increased foot traffic on beaches over the year has made maneuvering trucks through the sand more difficult and dangerous. He noted that larger vehicles have worse blind spots than smaller vehicles, and said he find them unnecessary for basic patrols.

Instead, Bailey suggested that patrols should be made by officers driving smaller vehicles like ATVs. If an emergency requires a truck, he said that the driver needs to have their sirens blaring and lights flashing to alert beachgoers. Bailey hopes his plan may prevent future tragedies, like the one on Myrtle beach.

“It’s such a tragic event,” Bailey said. “Not only is it a tragic event for the family that lost their loved one but it’s also a tragic event for these officers, who are down there just trying to do their job, who have an accident and they’ll be forever impacted.”

Following the Myrtle Beach incident, the Horry County Police Department said that it has decreased the use of trucks and increased foot and ATV patrols. However, in a statement the department said that “trucks remain critical for some calls to service due to certain emergency equipment and community member transportation needs.”

Bailey said that he does not have a timetable for the legislation but promised to listen to law enforcement agencies and testimony.

The accident involving a large patrol vehicle at Myrtle Beach is not the only one to happen on a South Carolina beach. In 2020, an officer ran over a 69-year-old woman with his patrol vehicle, who had been laying in the sand in Garden City. The woman did survive the incident.