HORRY COUNTY, SC (WMBF) – The family of the 66-year-old who died after being run over by a Horry County police officer is suing, claiming the officer involved got distracted.

The estate of Sandy Schultz-Peters filed the wrongful death lawsuit against the Horry County Police Department on Friday.

Schultz-Peters, who lived in Myrtle Beach, headed to the beach on June 13 on what the lawsuit calls a clear day.

Lcpl. Julian “Duke” Brown pulled onto the Nash Street Public Beach Access around 1 p.m. in a full-sized 2020 Ford Ranger beach patrol truck.

The lawsuit states along with it being a clear day, Brown’s vision was not blocked, and he wasn’t responding to an emergency.

Brown had every chance to see Schultz-Peters on the beach but got distracted and chose to drive on the beach without checking for people and objects, according to the lawsuit.

Instead of checking, Brown drove his truck over Schultz-Peters, and she became trapped under the wheel for several minutes, the suit claims.

Witnesses got the truck off her, and she died later that afternoon in “conscious pain, suffering, and fear to an extent and degree that no human being should ever bear.”

The lawsuit states as HCPD’s beach safety director, Brown should be the most knowledgeable person on beach safety within the agency.

The lawsuit also mentions Brown previously ran over a person’s items on the beach while in the same role.

HCPD did know or should have known about the previous incident, the documents state.

Schultz-Peters’ family is accusing HCPD of gross negligence, negligent supervision, training and retention and wrongful death.

Her brother, Tony Schultz, tells WMBF News her loved ones don’t plan to stop after this lawsuit, either.

“We want to make sure that there are zero additional fatalities on the beach,” said Schultz. “The most important thing now since she’s gone is the outcry from people that I hear about the dangers on the beach and wanting to eliminate risks on the beach, and I want to commit to being able to have a positive factor, to have something positive come out of this.”

Schultz said his family wants to catch state lawmakers’ attention to prevent a future tragedy like the one that claimed her life.

“We want to call it the ‘Safe Sands for Sandy Initiative’ so that we can hopefully influence some legislation to change the way that the beaches are being patrolled with trucks so that no one else would ever have this happen again,” said Schultz.

The family is looking for an award that exceeds $100,000, and they are requesting a jury trial.

A spokesperson for HCPD told WMBF News the department does not comment on pending lawsuits.

The full lawsuit can be viewed below:

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