A woman was seriously injured on Wednesday afternoon, August 28, after being struck by a police vehicle while the vacationer was sunbathing on Wildwood Beach, New Jersey.
The incident occurred near Rio Grande Avenue at approximately 3:30 p.m. when an on-duty officer, responding to an unspecified ordinance violation, ran over the woman as she lay on a towel.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene as bystanders rushed to the woman’s aid, lifting the front end of the Ford F-150 police pickup truck off her.
“People were just screaming, ‘You hit somebody! Somebody’s under your truck! Stop!’” recalled Rose Simone, a nearby sunbather from Chalfont, Pennsylvania.
Despite the commotion, Simone noted that she hadn’t heard the vehicle approaching until after the incident had already occurred.
Another beachgoer who witnessed the accident, Ryan Cortes, described the chaotic moments that followed.
“The Wildwood police officer ran this lady over on the beach while he was swerving in and out of the beach, way too close. Citizens nearby had to scream at the truck to stop, and they had to gather to lift the vehicle off of the woman’s torso—it was truly horrible,” said Cortes.
Beachgoers quickly banded together, attempting to lift the police vehicle off the injured woman in a display of quick thinking and teamwork that likely played a critical role in the emergency response.
“The woman appeared to be moving, but she seemed to be severely injured, as you can imagine,” said Cortes.
The woman, whose identity has not been released, sustained multiple serious injuries, including broken ribs, three fractured vertebrae, and a lung injury.
She was transported from the beach by emergency responders and is expected to survive.
Wildwood Police Chief Joseph Murphy confirmed the incident, noting that the officer involved is regularly assigned to beach patrol.
The chief did not identify the officer or the victim but indicated that the department’s internal affairs unit, along with an accident reconstruction officer, would investigate the circumstances surrounding the accident.
As of Saturday, both the Wildwood Police Department and the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office have provided limited information, directing inquiries back and forth between agencies.
The Mayor of Wildwood, Ernie Troiano, described the incident as an “unfortunate situation” and assured the public that a thorough investigation is ongoing.
Witnesses on the beach were left questioning why the officer was driving so close to sunbathers in such a popular area.
Discover more from NJTODAY.NET
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.