Church van passenger killed in Loris area crash

By DEUCE NIVEN

    A passenger in a church van from Nakina died in a two-vehicle collision near Loris Tuesday afternoon, Horry County Deputy Coroner Michelle McSpadden said.
    Rebecca Lynn Dew, 29, of Whiteville, died about 4 p.m. after being partially ejected from the Faith Apostolic Church van on SC 9 Bypass at Hwy 747, McSpadden said.
    Five other people were taken to Grand Strand Regional Medical Center in Myrtle Beach with serious, but apparently not life-threatening injuries, Loris Fire Department Chief Jerry Hardee said.
    Dew was a passenger in the 1996 Ford church van driven by Marion McLamb, 51, Lance Cpl. Judd Jones of the South Carolina Highway Patrol said. There were three other passengers in the van.
    Tracy Brown, 44, driving a 1993 Chevrolet pickup truck, had two passengers, Jones said.
    McLamb was travelling east on Hwy 747, ran the stop sign, and was struck in the side by Brown’s truck, Jones said. There was heavy front-end damage to the pickup truck, and the van came to rest on its side, on top of Dew, who was not wearing a seat belt and was partially ejected from the van.
    Brown was taken by helicopter to Grand Strand Regional Medical Center in Myrtle Beach, four others by ambulance, Hardee said.
    Westbound lanes of SC 9 were shut down for more than two hours, re-opening about 6:30 p.m., Hardee said.
    Jones said the crash remains under investigation.
    Dew had been living in Loris for about a year, though family members said she still considered Whiteville to be home, McSpadden said.
    Obituary information for Dew, when available, can be found here.