Clarendon County Sheriff's Office Inv. Walter K. "Walt" Floyd had just signed off duty in the early evening hours of March 1, 2002. He was on his way to pick up his daughter and his wife for a Friday night dinner.
But fate had other plans.
Floyd was driving on June Burn Road in the Cypress Fork area of the county when another driver "ran a stop sign or ignored it altogether," according to longtime friend and former colleague Pete Surette.
"He was thrown from his vehicle and died at the scene," Surette said.
Surette joined Sheriff's Office Inv. Eric Rosdail and Clarendon County Council Chairman Dwight Stewart and cycling enthusiast George "Trip" Hussey III last week to honor Floyd's memory with a ride to the location where the 44-year-old former deputy lost his life 15 years ago.
The four were joined in their effort by fellow law enforcement who flanked them at front and back during the 10.2-mile trip.
"We want to continue to remember him and his family," said Surette, member of a group called Palmetto Patriots, law enforcement cyclists dedicated to rides honoring their fallen brethren. "It's hard to believe it's been 15 years. It seems like yesterday."
Floyd was driving east on June Burn Road on March 1, 2002, when a car driven by a 67-year-old Sumter woman ran the stop sign at the intersection of June Burn and North Brewington roads. Floyd's Chevrolet Blazer struck the passenger side of the car, killing the passenger. Floyd was thrown from his vehicle and died a short time later at Clarendon Memorial Hospital.
Starting at the Clarendon County Courthouse, those gathered shared stories about their fallen colleague.
Surette remembered a story about Floyd and a resident who was having problems with dogs running through their property.
"A lady called and told him 'I need your help with these dogs.' He asked her how he could help. She told him she had her land posted with no trespassing signs. Walt thought a little bit and then told her 'you know these dogs come from Georgia, North Carolina, all over the place and only half of them can read,'" Surette shared. "That was how Walt was."
Such was Floyd's influence on his comrades that this was not the first anniversary ride held in his honor.
"This is the second anniversary ride we've done," Surette said.
The first, on the 10th anniversary, involved a dinner afterward in Floyd's native Barrineau.
"This year, we decided on simply riding out to the crash site," said Surette.
Kena Floyd Dill, one of Floyd's two children, joined the law enforcement riders at the Law Enforcement Officers' Memorial on the Clarendon County Courthouse grounds, where the ride began. Now a resident of Elgin who works in Columbia, Dill said it's hard to believe so much time has passed since her father's death.
"It's an honor that you guys would shop up 15 years later," she said. "It showed he touched your lives in some way. No words can express the gratitude and appreciation that I have for you. I hope that today's ride is a healing journey."
