Wendy Newton
Wendy Newton, 45, was a mother of three who lived with schizophrenia, and her son Charles remembers her as a happy, joyful woman who loved her family. On September 18, 2018, while Horry County sheriff's deputies were driving her between medical facilities, floodwater from Hurricane Florence swept their van off the road near Nichols, South Carolina. She was in the locked rear cage and could not get out, and she drowned. Two former deputies were charged with involuntary manslaughter and reckless homicide, and a jury convicted former deputy Stephen Flood, who was sentenced in 2022 to 18 years in prison. The deputies' attorneys call the deaths an accident, while the family's attorney disputes how the transport was handled.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody (disputed). Former deputies were charged with involuntary manslaughter and reckless homicide after the van drove around a barricade into floodwater, and the family's attorney disputes the handling of the van's doors and keys, while the defense calls the deaths an accident.
Reported by: State Law Enforcement Division (outside investigators); Marion County jury (court); Horry County Sheriff's Office (the agency that held her); Wendy Newton's family and their attorney (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: Her family has sued over her death, but the sources report no settlement or verdict amount.
Sources (11)
- Daughter of woman who died in sheriff's van flooding wants answers
- After deputies fired in SC jail van drownings, lawmakers to form investigative panel
- SC lawmakers drafting new legislation after two women drowned in a sheriff's van
- Correctional officers charged in drowning deaths post bond
- SC deputies ignored alternate route in van drowning that killed 2 in flood, SLED says
- Former deputies charged after two women drowned in transport van bond out of jail
- 2 former Horry Co. deputies to face jury after women drowned in transport van in 2018
- Former deputy Stephen Flood gets 18 years in prison after deaths of women who drowned in transport van during Hurricane Florence
- The final moments of a fatal ride. A former SC deputy's drive into floodwaters.
- Charges dropped against former S.C. deputy after 2 died in flooded van
- After SC jail van deaths, a push against treating patients like 'prisoners and stray dogs'