Former SC officer gets 8 years in death of NC man

CONWAY, S.C. (AP) — A former Myrtle Beach police officer has been sentenced to eight years in prison in the death of a North Carolina motorcycle rider last year.

Sixty-three-year-old Larry Dennis Hardee of North Myrtle Beach pleaded guilty Monday to felony driving under the influence with death.

Hardee was charged last May in a crash that killed 49-year-old Rocky Lane Honeycutt of Albemarle, N.C., during the annual Harley Davidson motorcycle rally.

Honeycutt worked as a correctional officer at the Albemarle Correctional Institution. He died from head and chest injuries at Seacoast Medical Center in Little River.

Hardee had worked as a police officer at the Myrtle Beach Police Department from 1975 until 1996 when he retired as a lieutenant. He did no prior criminal record.

Witnesses said Hardee turned in front of Honeycutt.