A woman is recovering after authorities say she was impaled by an umbrella while sunbathing on a Florida beach.
According to Fox News Digital, the Cocoa Beach Police Department confirmed that the woman and her family were sitting by the water on the beach when the freak accident occurred.
The Florida Beach visitors’ rental umbrella had somehow dislodged from the sand and impaled the woman in the leg. Authorities were quickly alerted about the unusual incident.
Law enforcement revealed that the first responders had to use bolt cutters to remove the beach umbrella’s canopy from the pole. This was due to the umbrella continuing to move while being lodged in the woman’s leg.
Along with the police department, the Florida beach’s fire department and the Brevard County Fire Rescue were called to the scene and assisted the woman. “Although officers responded, the matter was a medical call and handled by the Cocoa Beach Fire Department and Brevard County Fire Rescue,” the police spokesperson said. “We do not have any more information.”
It remains unknown what caused the umbrella to dislodge from its position.
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission has stated airborne beach umbrella incidents have become too common over recent years.
“Under the new voluntary safety standard – ASTM F3681-24 – compliant beach umbrella/ anchor systems and beach umbrellas used with compliant anchors must provide a resisting force of at least 75 pounds,” the organization stated. “Or must remain secure in wind speeds of up to 30 mph, when a compliant anchor is installed in the sand.”
A Woman Died After Being Impaled With An Umbrella on South Carolina Beach in 2022
The umbrella incident in Florida occurred just a couple of years after a woman died after being impaled by an umbrella while on a South Carolina beach.
NBC News reported that Tammy Perreault was at Garden City Beach when she experienced what was dubbed a “one-of-a-kind” injury. Her husband, Mike Perreault, was with her when the accident happened.
“It was a regular breezy day, no other umbrellas or beach blankets or anything got foiled,” Mike told NBC News. “Just this one umbrella.”
Mike shared that the umbrella came down the beach from about 40 feet away. Although everyone ducked, Tammy didn’t react fast enough. “It went through her arm into her rib cage,” he said. “She bled out in maybe 30 or 40 seconds.”
Tammy was transported to a nearby emergency room. She succumbed to her injuries less than an hour after the accident. “She was one of a kind,” Mike shared. “After a couple of years, I asked her to marry me. We got married at a beach in Jamaica.”