South Carolina: Two women from mental health facility drown in flood during transport by deputies

Two women being transported by sheriff’s deputies to a mental health facility drowned Tuesday in South Carolina when the van they were riding in was overcome by floodwaters. The two sheriff’s deputies in the vehicle survived. Forty-five-year-old Windy Newton and 43-year-old Nicolette Green are two of at least 37 people killed by Hurricane Florence since the storm made landfall. Both women had gone to hospitals Tuesday morning when they were involuntarily committed and detained. Less than 24 hours later, they were dead. “There are a lot of questions remaining about why this had to occur then, why there couldn’t have been some sort of an emergency delay,” says Meg Kinnard, South Carolina correspondent for the Associated Press, who has been following the story closely.