2 Mental Patients Chained in Back of Sheriff’s Van Drown During Florence

Houses sit in floodwater caused by Hurricane Florence on the outskirts of Lumberton, N.C., on Sept. 17, 2018. Jason Miczek/Reuters

Two mental patients that were restrained in the back of a sheriff’s van died in South Carolina when the vehicle in which they were traveling was overcome by floodwaters, said police.

The deputies who were transporting the women to a facility in South Carolina were saved, ABC News reported. The women weren’t identified.