NORTH MYRTLE BEACH (WBTV/AP/WMBF) - A retired officer with the Myrtle Beach Police Department is facing a DUI charge following a wreck Tuesday night which killed a motorcyclist from Albemarle.
Rocky Lane Huneycutt, 49, died Tuesday night after his motorcycle was involved in a crash with a truck at the intersection of Sea Mountain Highway and Hill Street in North Myrtle Beach.
Huneycutt was a corrections officer at the North Carolina Department of Corrections facility in Albemarle, according to NCDOC spokesman Keith Acree.
Huneycutt left work on Tuesday for a planned trip to Myrtle Beach and wasn't in North Myrtle Beach very long before the wreck occurred, Acree said.
On Wednesday, Huneycutt's sister, Lisa Love, told WBTV's sister station WMBF that her brother and some friends were heading to the area for Bike Week. Their wives were to join them this weekend.
Horry County Deputy Coroner Tony Hendrick said Huneycutt died from head and chest injuries at Seacoast Medical Center in Little River, SC.
Larry Hardee, 62, was charged with felony DUI. His Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) at the time of the crash was not immediately known because Hardee refused to take a breathalyzer test. A sample of Hardee's blood was obtained at a hospital and sent off for analysis.
Hardee was taken to the J. Reuben Long Detention Center where he was charged with failure to yield the right-of-way, and felony driving under the influence.
During a bond hearing Wednesday afternoon, Hardee's attorney argued that his client was not a flight risk.
Judge Blake Martin cited Hardee's clean criminal record and residency in North Myrtle Beach as reasoning to issue a $20,000 bond. Martin added that Hardee's history in law enforcement had no play in issuing the bond, WMBF reported.
Hardee served as a police Lieutenant with the the Myrtle Beach Police Department from July 1975 through June 1996 when he then retired. He is a resident of North Myrtle Beach.
Huneycutt is the second biker to die during the Cruisin' the Coast Spring Bike Rally, which started Friday. Robert Wayne Dew of Loris was killed Monday night.
Copyright 2011 WBTV. The Associated Press and WMBF contributed to this report. All rights reserved.
