The 67-year-old woman, who was visiting from London, was speared in the ankle in Seaside Heights, New Jersey.
Rescuers jumped into action to help a woman who was impaled by a beach umbrella that had been caught in freakish winds in New Jersey Monday afternoon.
The aluminum shaft of the umbrella was driven by a strong gust, spearing the ankle of a 67-year-old woman who was enjoying the beach at Seaside Heights, New Jersey. It went clean through.
The injured woman, who was not identified, was visiting from London when her day at the beach turned into a nightmare. On a windy day, it’s easy to see how an umbrella that has not been properly anchored into the sand can become a deadly missile.
“They're going to have to cut it to remove the umbrella so they could transport her out of here,” the police said in a recorded dispatch message.
The woman was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center. Her current condition has not been released.
Ed Quigley and Lynn Stevens and are also victims of the same kind of freak accident at the beach.
Quigley was relaxing with family on Delaware beach when he was struck. He lost the use of his left eye and his sense of taste and smell.
“It's a loss of some of the things that make life sweet,” he told Inside Edition in 2017.
Fifteen miles away on the same stretch of beach, Stevens was impaled by a flying umbrella. It just missed a major artery.
“My first thought out of my mind was, 'This is how I’m going to die — oh my gosh — I’m going to die on the beach today,'" she said.
Many people use a circular motion to put the pole in, which is a bad idea.
Instead, rock the umbrella back and forth and sure the umbrella gets about 16 inches deep in the sand.
Then direct the umbrella into the wind so a gust won't send it flying.
Some beaches have begun enacting laws that require umbrellas to be removed and lowered when winds hit a certain velocity.
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