A woman relaxing at a beach in Wildwood, New Jersey, was reportedly run over by a police officer during a freak accident last week.
The incident took place on Wednesday afternoon, according to the Star-Ledger. Wildwood Police Chief Joseph Murphy told the Press of Atlantic City that the incident involved one of the department’s Ford F-150 pickup trucks.
The victim, whose name was not released by authorities, suffered broken ribs, three fractured vertebrae and a lung injury, according to WPVI-TV, which cited the victim’s boyfriend.
Murphy said the officer driving the pickup was responding to an ordinance violation when the accident happened.
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“The officer was down there in performance of his duties on a call for service,” the police chief said. “Horrifically, he ran over a victim who was lying on the beach.”
Murphy added that the victim was visiting Wildwood while on vacation ahead of Labor Day weekend.
“There was a lot of help from people on the beach,” the police chief added. “The civilians on the beach did an incredible job.”
A bystander named Rose Simone told WPVI-TV that fellow beachgoers panicked when the pickup ran over the woman.
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“Everybody was gathering around screaming, yelling at the person in the truck, ‘Stop! There’s somebody under your truck! You hit somebody!’” the Chalfont, Pa., resident recalled.
“A bunch of guys came around that were in the area, and they said we have to lift the truck, the front of the truck, to get her out,” Simone continued.
Simone told the Star-Ledger that she noticed the woman before the incident happened. The victim was wearing dark clothes while lying on a beach towel.
“It was an accident, clearly, but one that probably could have been avoided,” she added.
The victim is expected to survive.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Wildwood Police Department for more information.
