FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – Deputies with the Florence County Sheriff’s Office say they have recovered the bodies of two people who have died as a result of Hurricane Matthew.
Major Michael Nunn with the Florence County Sheriff’s Office says both bodies were taken from cars either swept away or submerged in the flood waters.
On Saturday, officers recovered the body of a man from a car that had been swept 100 yards away from the roadway on Old River Road near Jeffries Creek Road. Coroner Keith von Lutcken identified the victim as Roosevelt Robinson, an 83-year-old man from the Pamlico area.
The second person was found Sunday by the Florence County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team inside a submerged car at a bridge washout on National Cemetery Road near Fire Tower Road. On Sunday, von Lutcken identified the man as 73-year-old Sammie Muldrow from Florence.
Sheriff Kenney Boone pleaded with drivers to stay off the roads. Officials say that they must wait until after the power lines and debris are removed to inspect bridges and overpasses to make sure they’re safe for travel.
The Florence County Coroner’s Office continues to investigate the incidents and will release the identities of the victims after the families are notified. Both victims will be autopsied at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.