At Arndt Law Firm, we understand the unique nuances of pedestrian accidents in Myrtle Beach, SC. It’s important to recognize that a crosswalk is defined not solely by painted lines on the road but by where sidewalk lines converge at intersections. This means that even when there’s no visible marking, the area between these lines is still considered a crosswalk under South Carolina law. Our team is dedicated to ensuring that pedestrians receive the protection they deserve while navigating their communities.
We also want to highlight the serious legal implications that can arise from pedestrian accidents. In cases where a driver strikes a pedestrian and flees the scene, the consequences can be severe. A person involved in such an incident can face felony charges, especially if the pedestrian sustains fatal injuries. This reality adds an important layer to how we approach pedestrian safety and the legal support we provide to our clients.
If you or a loved one has been involved in a pedestrian accident in Myrtle Beach, our team is here to listen and guide you through the process. We’re committed to standing by your side, helping you understand your rights, and ensuring that your voice is heard. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us for the support you need during this challenging time.
The definition does the work here, and it is more favorable to a person on foot than most drivers assume. S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-500 (2024) defines a crosswalk as two things:
Both are crosswalks. The driver's duty to yield under S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-3130 (2024) attaches to either. So a person crossing at an intersection where the sidewalk continues on the far side is in a crosswalk by statutory definition, and the common insurer response that there were no markings there is not an answer to the duty.
Does a crosswalk have to be painted in South Carolina?
No. S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-500 (2024) defines a crosswalk to include the roadway at an intersection lying within the connections of the lateral sidewalk lines, with no marking required. Markings create a second category of crosswalk rather than the only one.
S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-3130 (2024) sets the driver's obligation. Where traffic control signals are not in place or not in operation, a driver must yield the right of way, slowing down or stopping if need be, to a pedestrian crossing within a crosswalk when the pedestrian is on the half of the roadway the vehicle is traveling on, or is approaching so closely from the other half as to be in danger.
The same section limits the pedestrian. Under S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-3130(b) (2024), no pedestrian may suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle so close as to constitute an immediate hazard. That provision is the origin of most fault arguments made against injured pedestrians, and it addresses a sudden movement into an immediate hazard rather than the act of crossing.
Subsection (d) settles a recurring scenario. Where a vehicle is stopped at a marked or unmarked crosswalk to let a pedestrian cross, a driver approaching from the rear may not overtake and pass that stopped vehicle. A person struck while walking out from in front of a car that stopped for them is protected by an express prohibition in S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-3130(d) (2024) rather than a general standard.
Outside a crosswalk, the right of way flips and the pedestrian yields, but S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-3230 (2024) still requires every driver to exercise due care to avoid colliding with a pedestrian, to sound the horn where necessary, and to exercise proper precaution when observing a child or a confused or incapacitated person. Having the right of way is not permission to hit someone.
Kings Highway carries the market's pedestrian collisions through the oceanfront blocks, which are addressed by numbered avenues rather than named cross streets. A fatal hit-and-run near the 1000 block of South Kings Highway closed the road from 9th Avenue South to 13th Avenue South while Myrtle Beach police investigated.
North of the city, Old Highway 17 North has produced a fatal collision involving a person walking in the roadway just after midnight, investigated by the North Myrtle Beach Police Department. That points to a different set of questions: lighting, shoulder availability, and what a driver could see and when.
S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-3160 (2024) sets an order of preference for walking along a roadway. A pedestrian must use a sidewalk where one is available, then the shoulder where there is no sidewalk, then the outside edge of the roadway. That hierarchy matters because it establishes that walking on the road is lawful in the absence of the alternatives rather than careless in itself. Where a route has no continuous sidewalk, the question is not whether the pedestrian should have been elsewhere but whether the driver exercised the due care the statute requires.
The South Carolina Department of Public Safety reported that pedestrian fatalities across the state rose to 187 in 2023, up from 173 the year before, in its Traffic Collision Fact Book.
That figure is statewide rather than local and is presented as such. What it establishes is that pedestrian deaths in South Carolina were rising rather than falling in the most recent published year, which is the relevant background to any suggestion that a pedestrian collision is a freak event nobody could have anticipated.
In 2025, Horry County recorded 24 fatal and serious-injury pedestrian-involved crashes. Pedestrian involvement is a subset of that total and is broken out separately in the same county file.
Pedestrian collisions produce a higher share of drivers who leave than most collision types, and this market has recorded fatal examples.
The criminal exposure is severe and worth knowing, because it explains why some drivers are eventually identified. Under S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-1210 (2024), leaving the scene of a collision is a felony carrying not less than thirty days and up to ten years, with a fine between five thousand and ten thousand dollars, where great bodily injury results. Where death results, the sentence runs from one year to twenty-five years, with a fine between ten thousand and twenty-five thousand dollars.
On the civil side, uninsured motorist coverage is required in South Carolina and may apply when the responsible driver cannot be identified, but South Carolina imposes specific requirements. The crash must be reported to an appropriate police authority within a reasonable time; the claim must satisfy the statute's physical-contact, qualifying-witness, or recording requirement; and the insured must not have been negligent in failing to identify the vehicle and driver. The claim is brought against the injured person's own carrier or a household policy, rather than against a defendant who was never found.
Camera footage carries extra weight in these cases because it may be the only route to identifying the vehicle at all, and it sits on retention cycles controlled by whoever owns the camera.
What if the driver who hit me drove off?
Uninsured motorist coverage is required in South Carolina and may apply when the responsible driver cannot be identified, but the law sets several requirements. The crash must be reported to the proper police authority within a reasonable time; the claim must meet the statute's physical-contact, qualifying-witness, or recording requirement; and the insured must not have been negligent in failing to identify the vehicle and driver.
The answer determines where every record lives, and Horry County has an unusual number of possibilities along a short stretch of road.
Myrtle Beach Police Department investigates inside Myrtle Beach city limits. North Myrtle Beach Police Department is a separate department covering that city. The South Carolina Highway Patrol investigates on the highways and in the unincorporated county. Horry County Fire Rescue responds countywide and generates run reports, and the Horry County Coroner's Office confirms fatalities and maintains its own file.
A request sent to the wrong department returns nothing, and weeks can be lost before anyone realizes why. The fire rescue run report is often the earliest clinical description of an injured person's condition, recorded before any insurer was involved.
One statutory point limits how much weight the report itself carries. Under S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-1290 (2024), the accident reports drivers and owners must file are not admissible at trial as evidence of negligence or due care, and officers may refer to them only to refresh recollection. The same principle runs through every Myrtle Beach crash claim.
An injured pedestrian recovers as long as their share of the fault is not greater than the driver's, with the award reduced by that percentage and barred at 51 percent. The rule comes from Nelson v. Concrete Supply Co., a South Carolina Supreme Court decision and not a statute, which is worth stating because published South Carolina pages sometimes attribute it to a code section governing a different question.
Pedestrian claims are where comparative fault does its heaviest work. Dark clothing, headphones, phone use, alcohol, crossing outside a crosswalk, and the exact position at impact are all raised.
Those facts do not automatically bar recovery, but they may be considered in allocating comparative fault. A pedestrian's damages are reduced by the percentage of fault assigned, and recovery is barred if the pedestrian is found 51% or more at fault.
For causes of action arising or accruing after January 1, 2026, South Carolina's amended apportionment statute may permit allocation of fault to certain nonparty tortfeasors. The statute generally requires disclosure within 180 days after commencement of the action, subject to good cause and the statute's other requirements.
| Situation | The rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Unmarked crossing at an intersection | Is a crosswalk by definition | Section 56-5-500(1) |
| Marked crossing anywhere | Is a crosswalk by definition | Section 56-5-500(2) |
| Driver approaching a stopped vehicle at a crosswalk | May not overtake and pass | Section 56-5-3130(d) |
| twenty-five | Sections 56-5-3150 and 56-5-3230 | |
| Walking along a road | Sidewalk, then shoulder, then outside edge | Section 56-5-3160 |
| Leaving the scene where death results | Felony, up to twenty five years | Section 56-5-1210 |
The steps that matter most close quickly, and several of them are gone within a week.
Get evaluated even where the injuries seem manageable, because the medical record created in the first days is the document an insurer weighs most heavily when it later argues an injury came from something else. A pedestrian struck by a vehicle frequently has injuries that do not present immediately.
Establish exactly where you were when you were struck. Photograph the crossing, the sidewalk approach on both sides, the curb lines, any markings or their absence, the signal if there was one, and the sight line a driver would have had. Where a sidewalk continues on the far side of an intersection, that geometry is what makes the location a crosswalk by statutory definition, and it is worth capturing before anything is repainted or reconfigured.
Identify the investigating agency at the scene, since Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach maintain separate report systems and a request to the wrong one returns nothing. Note the businesses facing the location, because their cameras overwrite on a fixed cycle and a preservation request has to reach them while footage still exists.
Report the collision to your own insurer as well, which is a separate obligation from anything owed to the driver's carrier and one most policies require regardless of fault.
What should I photograph after being hit as a pedestrian?
The crossing itself, the sidewalk approach on both sides, curb lines, markings or their absence, signals, and the driver's sight line. That geometry establishes whether the location was a crosswalk by definition, and it changes when a road is resurfaced.
A pedestrian struck by a vehicle absorbs the entire force with no structure around them, producing head injuries, pelvic and lower extremity fractures, and internal injuries. Treatment frequently extends well past the initial hospitalization.
South Carolina places no general statutory cap on noneconomic damages in an ordinary injury case, so pain, disfigurement, and loss of enjoyment are not limited by statute. The medical malpractice cap does not reach a road claim.
Coverage usually falls short of the loss. The state minimum is $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident, which will not cover a serious pedestrian injury. Uninsured motorist coverage is required at those limits. Underinsured coverage is optional, though an insurer must hold a signed form showing underinsured coverage was offered and either accepted or rejected, failing which it must add the coverage and rate for it. Anyone injured as a pedestrian should have their own household policy read rather than assume it is irrelevant.
A fatal pedestrian collision produces two claims under South Carolina law. The wrongful death action compensates the statutory beneficiaries. The survival action carries forward what the person suffered before death, and its proceeds go to the estate where creditors can reach them.
South Carolina wrongful-death and survival claims are pursued through the decedent's personal representative. Estate appointment should be addressed promptly, although South Carolina law recognizes circumstances in which later qualification or correction of capacity can relate back to an earlier filing.
The deadline runs three years from the date of death rather than from the collision. Settlement of either claim requires court approval. The wrongful death analysis sets out that sequence.
The general deadline is three years from the date of the collision. A claim based on road design, signage, lighting, or a crossing a public body was responsible for generally must be filed within two years under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act.
The period may extend to three years if the claimant first files the statutory verified claim, which must be received within one year after the loss was or should have been discovered. Recovery is capped at $300,000 per person and $600,000 per occurrence, and no punitive damages are available.
A person struck while working may have a third-party claim that must be commenced within one year of the compensation carrier accepting liability or making payment. For injured children, South Carolina law can toll the limitations period while the claimant is under eighteen.
The calculation is governed by S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-40 (2024) and is fact-sensitive, so the filing deadline for a child's claim should be determined individually rather than assumed from the ordinary three-year rule or a fixed "one year after turning 18" formula.
Suit is filed in the Court of Common Pleas for Horry County, in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, at the courthouse at 1301 Second Avenue in Conway, with the Clerk of Court at (843) 915-5080. Seriously injured pedestrians may be treated at Grand Strand Medical Center in Myrtle Beach, an Adult Level I Trauma Center and Pediatric Level II Trauma Center.
S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-3230 (2024) does more than state a general duty of due care. It requires a driver to exercise proper precaution when observing a child, or a confused or incapacitated person, on a roadway. That is a heightened obligation written into the statute itself.
The effect is significant in a claim involving a child, because a child's presence near a roadway is a circumstance the statute requires a driver to respond to. That reframes the argument that a child darted out unexpectedly, and the question becomes what the driver did after a child became observable.
The same provision reaches an older adult or a person with a visible impairment. In a market with a substantial older population and a large visiting one, that duty is engaged more often than a driver might assume.
Deadlines also work differently for a child. South Carolina law may toll the limitations period while an injured person is under eighteen, but the calculation is governed by S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-40 (2024) and can be fact-sensitive. The precise deadline should not be reduced to a blanket formula; it should be determined individually rather than assumed from the ordinary rule.
Does the law treat a child pedestrian differently?
Yes. S.C. Code Ann. §56-5-3230 (2024) requires a driver to exercise proper precaution when observing a child, or a confused or incapacitated person, on a roadway, and a child's claim runs on a longer deadline.
Not on that basis alone. An unmarked crossing at an intersection is a crosswalk by statutory definition under S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-500 (2024), and the driver's duty to yield applies there.
A pedestrian outside a crosswalk yields to vehicles, but the driver still owes a duty of due care under S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-3230 (2024), and liability turns on whether the collision was avoidable.
Possibly. Your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage may respond, and whether underinsured coverage exists may depend on whether your insurer holds a signed rejection form.
Punitive damages require clear and convincing proof of wilful, wanton, or reckless conduct. They ordinarily are capped at the greater of three times compensatory damages or $500,000, although South Carolina law provides exceptions, including certain felony, intentional-harm, and impairment circumstances. A felony conviction arising from the same conduct is one of three findings that remove the cap.
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, and the fee is contingent on recovery.
The Arndt Law Firm attacks the fault percentage first in a pedestrian case, because that number, rather than the medical bills, usually decides what the claim is worth. That starts with establishing exactly where the crossing was, since a crosswalk exists at an intersection whether or not anyone painted it.
Chasing the perishable evidence runs alongside that, and in this county that means identifying which of several departments holds the file before requesting anything. Horry County claims are filed in the Court of Common Pleas in Conway. Attorney Jonathan S. Arndt has been licensed in South Carolina since 2018 and reviews the firm's pedestrian matters.
Nothing is owed unless the claim recovers, and an initial review carries no cost. You can reach the firm through the contact page. Footage showing where a person was standing when they were struck is typically overwritten within weeks, long before the filing deadline becomes the operative limit.
Last reviewed: August 2026
This page was reviewed by Jonathan S. Arndt, licensed in South Carolina since 2018.
Content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed South Carolina attorney for guidance specific to your situation.
