A South Carolina beach cop accused of running over and killing a woman while she was sunbathing has been allowed to retire.
Former Beach Safety Director LCpl. Julian “Duke” Brown stepped down from the role with the Horry County Sheriff’s Office on July 26.
It happened just weeks after he killed 66-year-old nurse Sandra Schultz-Peters on busy Nash Beach.
A resolution has been introduced before the Horry County Public Safety Commission to declare Brown’s gun surplus property and make it available to him upon his retirement. WMBF defeated.
Brown was placed on administrative leave after the tragic incident in June. He first joined the police force in 1988 and has served as a beach safety leader his entire career.
South Carolina beach cop L Cpl Julian “Duke” Brown, accused of running over and killing a woman while she was sunbathing, has been allowed to retire
But the victim’s family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging he failed to check for people or objects in the road before driving onto the sand.
The documents show he also ran over another person’s belongings on the beach before hitting Schultz-Peters.
Schultz-Peters was lying on the sand when she was hit and was trapped under the vehicle for several minutes.
Photos posted online show dozens of people crowded around the Horry County Sheriff’s Office vehicle in the sand during the aftermath.
Dennis Miller said he was among those who tried to free Schultz-Peters from under the truck.
Nurse Sandra Schultz-Peters, 66, was fatally struck by a Horry County police vehicle in Nash Beach, South Carolina, in June
Nash Beach was full at the time and shocked witnesses said they heard a scream at the moment of impact, before several people rushed forward to help.
“She was pinned underneath the vehicle, so a group of men came and we did our best to lift the car off of her,” he told WMBF.
Bystander Amanda Bilodeau described what happened. “I didn’t hear or see anything until I heard her scream and it was the most powerful scream, something you can’t hear, like nothing from the movies or anything,” she told WMBF News.
“It was just pure fear or pain or both. Me and probably everyone on the beach immediately turned and ran.”
Schultz-Peters was rushed to Grand Strand Regional Medical Center, where she later died.
She, David Schultz, said she was familiar with the beach because she walked long distances there every day with her dogs, sometimes as far as 10 miles.
“That morning she passed away, I was with her three times,” he told WNBF.
Brown first joined the police force in 1988 and has been a beach safety leader throughout his career
Schultz-Peters’ brother, David Schultz, said she was well known at the beach because she walked long distances there every day with her dogs, sometimes as far as 10 miles
“She’s well, well, well missed. God put her on this earth for a reason, I believe, and someone took her away and I’ll deal with that later.
“Sandy was probably the best person I ever had in my life.”
“It’s killing me, it really hurts, it really hurts,” he added. “I’m just trying to hold it together, but I’m the one who’s losing it the most.”