Former Horry County School Teacher Sentenced After Pleading Guilty

Michael Oerther pleaded guilty to reckless homicide after he crashed his Jeep Wrangler into the back of a Honda Civic that was stopped at a traffic light

A former Horry County School teacher has been sentenced to nearly a decade in prison after pleading guilty to a 2021 fatal crash.

54-year-old Michael Oerther pleaded guilty to reckless homicide after he crashed his Jeep Wrangler into the back of a Honda Civic that was stopped at a traffic light on Carolina Forest Boulevard near Stafford Drive on October 25th of 2021.

Oerther had consumed alcohol prior to driving his vehicle. The incident killed 27-year-old Leza Watts.

Oerther was a math teacher at Ocean Bay Middle School and he resigned on November 5th following the incident. He has now been sentenced to a negotiated 8 years in prison.