Coroner releases name of accident victim
Updated 5:19 p.m.
The Horry County Coroner’s Office identified Demeatrius Chandler Jr., 23, of Myrtle Beach area, as the person who died when his vehicle was driven off the Socastee Swing Bridge Monday morning.
The coroner said by email that Chandler was the only person in the vehicle that went off the bridge about 11:40 a.m. June 12.
His body was recovered by the Horry County Fire and Rescue Dive Team about 12:45 p.m. An autopsy will be conducted on June 14, the coroner said.
Family of the deceased said that a seizure was likely the cause
Updated 2:20 P.M.
The brother of the still unidentified man who was pulled from the Intracoastal Waterway Monday afternoon said his sibling suffered from seizures.
The family believes that the deceased had a seizure which may have caused the accident and subsequent vehicle submergence.
“He was on his way back from a friends house,” the brother Altron Williams said. “He was full of joy and very fun.”
Officials confirm a body has been pulled from the water
Updated 2 P.M.
Horry County Fire Rescue confirms that a body has been recovered from the water by a dive team. The vehicle went into the waterway sometime Monday morning.
CAPTION
PHOTOS: Vehicle submerged in Intracoastal in Socastee, a body has been recovered
Family on scene and signs point to the vehicle being occupied at the time of water submersion
Updated 1:40 P.M.
A family walked to the scene a little after 1 p.m. A woman who identified herself as a mother hurried quickly to the scene.
After they were there, a man pulled the mother aside and talked with her. She then fell to the ground crying and screaming.
“He’s gone!” one man continued to shout.
Police and rescue crews continued to search the waters. A K-9 unit was being used and a rescue boat could be seen in the water.
Boat and vehicle traffic are closed on Dick Pond Road for a water rescue operation
Updated 12:58 P.M.
A portion of Dick Pond along the Intracoastal Waterway is temporarily closed as crews work to extract a vehicle that went into the water.
Horry County Fire Rescue said it was dispatched at 11:39 a.m. to the area within the Socastee community. The swing bridge is expected to remain closed for an “extended amount of time,” and the waterway is shut down for boat traffic as officials work the scene. No further information was immediately available.
This story was originally published June 12, 2023 12:43 PM.