COLUMBIA, S.C. — A settlement has been reached in the death of Mallory Beach, the woman killed in South Carolina boat crash that's become the subject of national media attention.
The insurance company covering Greg Parker, of Parker's convenience stores, has settled with the family, according to an attorney in the case. Beach died on February 24, 2019.
Mallory Beach, 19, was one of five passengers in a boat allegedly driven by Paul Murdaugh that crashed into the Archers Creek Bridge in Beaufort after an evening of underage drinking. Murdaugh allegedly used his older brother's identification to purchase alcohol at Parker's and later at a dockside bar near Beaufort.
Beach was tossed from the boat during the accident and her body was found eight days later in the river, about five miles from the crash site. She had died from drowning and blunt force trauma.
Tabor Vaux, a lawyer involved in the case, said Parker's insurance company has agreed to pay $18 million to settle all of the claims for the survivors of the boat crash, and $15 million of that money is allocated toward the Beach family.
According to Vaux, mediation lasted about eight hours on Sunday, July 16. There is still a second civil conspiracy case outstanding against Parker's involving Parker's attorneys leaking photos of Beach's body and their confidential mediation video.
Paul Murdaugh was charged in the crash. However, those charges never went to trial because he was murdered in June of 2021 along with his mother. Paul Murdaugh's father was convicted in March of 2023 of killing both of them and sentenced to life in prison.