JEEP WATCH 2019: Man behind the wheel of infamous SUV ‘definitely paying for it now’

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - The man who said he was driving the Jeep that got stuck in the sand of Myrtle Beach Thursday during Hurricane Dorian is speaking out.

The man is choosing to remain anonymous. He confirmed the story told to WMBF News Thursday that he was borrowing his cousin’s Jeep when he used it to drive onto the beach to take photos of the sunrise.

“Went out to the beach to go out for the sunrise to go take a few pictures for our site saltyproshop.com and just got into a situation like this, so it’s crazy,” the Jeep’s driver said.

The Jeep’s owner and his cousin already have shirts made that say “#JeepWatch2019” on the front and the name of their website on the back. The owner’s shirt says “Owner” on the left sleeve, while his cousin’s shirt says “Cousin” on the left sleeve.

The cousin said he quickly tried to get help after getting the Jeep stuck, but no towing companies were willing to come get the vehicle in the middle of a hurricane, so he walked home.

He later realized the Jeep was quickly going viral as the internet started using #JeepWatch2019 all day.

“It’s just kind of crazy,” the cousin said. “Just kind of overwhelming. I don’t know what to say about it when it’s blown up as much as it has.”

Other than the obvious extensive water damage, the Jeep appeared to be doing somewhat OK considering the situation it was in.

Friday morning, though, the Jeep’s owner and his cousin realized someone vandalized it.

“Yeah it’s pretty messed up that other people can see someone’s property in the situation it’s in and punch holes in it and kick in the windshield,” the cousin said.

The Jeep’s driver said he knows the internet is making fun of him for what he did, but said he’s OK with that. He said he’ll move on from this just fine.

“This was a mistake,” the cousin said. “Definitely paying for it now.”

On Friday, Myrtle Beach city workers removed the vehicle from the beach. The Jeep’s owner is trying to find out whether his insurance will cover any of the damage.

He also wants to warn people that there are many GoFundMe pages that aren’t legitimate. He said the only real one is the one his sister made, where they will use funds raised to go toward people in the Bahamas affected by Hurricane Dorian.

Click here to access that GoFundMe page.