The incident occurred on the afternoon of Wednesday, June 24 at Francis Beach, which is part of Half Moon Bay State Beach
Credit: ABC7 News Bay Area/Youtube
NEED TO KNOW
- A lifeguard at a popular California beach accidentally drove over a 20-year-old woman while on patrol, according to reports
- The incident occurred on the afternoon of Wednesday, June 24, at Francis Beach, which is part of Half Moon Bay State Beach
- The victim was taken to a local hospital, and her injuries are not believed to be life-threatening
A 20-year-old woman has been hospitalized after being run over by a lifeguard at a popular beach in California.
The incident occurred on Wednesday, June 24 at around 3:45 p.m. local time at Francis Beach, which is part of Half Moon Bay State Beach, KTVU Fox 2, SFGATE and the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office responded to the Kelly Avenue area of the beach following reports that a California Department of Parks and Recreation lifeguard vehicle had struck a person, the Chronicle reported, citing Gretchen Spiker, the sheriff's director of communications.
Credit: Alamy
The vehicle had reportedly driven over the woman, who hasn't been identified, as she lay on the sand, per the outlet.
Initial reports have indicated that the driver in question might have been distracted during the incident, Spiker said, according to the newspaper.
The woman was taken to a local hospital, per KTVU Fox 2.
The victim's injuries are not believed to be life-threatening at this time, Spiker confirmed to SFGATE.
Witness Elena Inzunza of Auburn, who was in the area camping with her family at the time of the incident, told ABC7 Bay Area, "Me and my cousins, we saw cops running over to the beach," adding, "So we went to check it out, and a girl was buried under the sand."
Credit: San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office Facebook
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KTVU Fox 2 cited a witness as saying, "We saw that they were digging out a woman who had gotten run over. It's awful that she got run over. Hopefully, everything's going to be fine. Hopefully it was just an accident."
Along with sheriff's deputies, Coastside Fire and State Park Peace Officers were among the first responders at the scene, SFGATE reported, citing California State Parks spokesperson Adeline Yee.
The Half Moon Bay State Beach stretches along “four miles of long, sandy beaches on the San Mateo Coast with gentle dunes, consistently cool marine weather, peaceful ocean views, and shore fishing opportunites in a quiet, open setting,” per the California State Parks website.
As well as Francis Beach, the Half Moon Bay State Beach also includes Venice, Dunes and Roosevelt beaches.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing.
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