The officer involved in the deadly beach accident is the beach safety director for Horry County Police beach patrol and a longtime employee.
South Carolina Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Lena Butler identified Julian “Duke” Brown as the driver of the beach patrol vehicle that ran over Sandra “Sandy” Schultz-Peters on Thursday. The 66-year-old Myrtle Beach resident later died at a local hospital from her injuries.
Witnesses who came to the aid of Schultz-Peters also identified Brown as the driver of the vehicle. Schultz-Peters was struck as she was sitting on the beach near the Nash Street beach access.
A phone call Monday to what is believed to be Brown’s phone number was answered by a person identifying himself as Brown’s brother. The person said that Brown was unavailable, and when asked if he was at work, the man said, “No,” and hung up.
The officer involved was placed on administrative leave pending the investigation, according to Horry County Police.
Horry County Police officials have declined to release the officer’s name after repeated requests and instead directed questions to the South Carolina Highway Patrol. Police did release a statement regarding the incident.
Brown’s LinkedIn account says that he has been the beach safety director since May 1988. He has received numerous awards during his career and often has been quoted discussing safety in regards to the beach and ocean.
An article published in 2019 in The Sun News focused on Brown and his more than 50 summers working near the ocean.
Brown was described in the story by Horry County Sheriff Phillip Thompson, who worked with Brown, as “an extremely dedicated man.”
Deputy Coroner Darris Fowler, who was Brown’s supervisor for a time before retiring with HCPD, said in the article that Brown was a “beach ambassador.”
“Not only is Duke a true professional, he’s a caring person,” Fowler said at the time. “He’s not doing his job for recognition, he’s doing it out of love for the community and the people.”
He has no record of disciplinary action, according to the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy.
What happened
Butler, with the SCHP, said in a release that the accident happened about 1:07 p.m. on the beach near the Nash Street beach access. Schultz-Peters was taken to Grand Strand Medical Center where she died, Butler said in the release.
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 seconds or minutes before the accident occurred. The photo was taken at 1 p.m. Thursday 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.
Horry County Police will conduct an internal investigation, the police statement released Friday said.
“What occurred on the beach yesterday was a tragedy and we know our community is hurting. Our hearts are with all those impacted by this loss,” the statement said. “We also know our community has questions. We do too.”
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