From WWW.THEBLAZE.COM
A judge in South Carolina has sentenced a former sheriff’s deputy to 18 years in prison after two mental health patients drowned in Hurricane Florence floodwaters while trapped in the back of his police van.
The former deputy, ironically named Stephen Flood, was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of reckless homicide for his actions on Sept. 18, 2018, which the judge determined caused the deaths of Wendy Newton, 45, and Nicolette Green, 43.
Circuit Court Judge William Seales handed Flood 18 years of imprisonment for his crimes, five years each for the involuntary manslaughter charges and four years on each of the reckless homicide charges, WBTW-TV reported.
In a statement following the sentencing, Green’s sister, Donnela Green-Johnson, said, “He swore to serve and protect. Instead, he abused the trust that my sister Nicki, Wendy, and the state of South Carolina entrusted with him. And for what? To save some time? He decimated our family with his reckless behavior and took two people from this earth.”
Flood had been transporting the two women from their homes to mental health facilities when he decided to drive two miles on a stretch of U. S. Highway 76 that had been engulfed by floodwaters. Rushing water from the hurricane swept his police van off its wheels and pinned it against a guardrail, preventing the women from exiting through the side door, the Associated Press reported.
In court testimony, it was revealed that Flood and another deputy accompanying him did not have a key to a second door and, due to construction flaws in the veh… (Read more)
