NJ sunbather run over by local cop as she lay on towel at popular beach: ‘People were just screaming’
A sunbather was run over by a cop in a pickup truck on the sand in Wildwood, NJ — and remained under the vehicle till good Samaritans could lift it off her.
The unidentified on-duty officer from the Wildwood Police Department was responding to a call near Rio Grande Avenue at about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday when he ran over the torso of the woman, who was laying on a towel, Wildwood Police Chief Joseph Murphy told the Press of Atlantic City.
Bystanders immediately ran to her aid, with some digging in the sand as others worked to lift the front end of the Ford F-150 off her, according to the Star-Ledger.
“They were the ones who sprung to action,” witness Rose Simone said. “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 said the woman had been wearing dark clothes and sitting on the towel with a man before the incident. He was swimming when the truck ran her over.
“People were just screaming, ‘You hit somebody! Somebody’s under your truck! Stop!’ ” Simone continued. “Everybody [was] just gathering around the area, and then the cop jumps out of his truck.”
Another onlooker, Ryan Cortes, told Wildwood Video Archive, “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,” he continued. “No one understands why the cop was driving in a crowded beach so close to where everyone was!”
The victim is expected to survive but with serious injuries such as several broken ribs, three broken vertebrae and an unspecified lung injury, ABC 6 reported.
First responders put the wounded woman on a backboard and shuttled her to a waiting ambulance, Simone said.
Investigators worked the scene for about an hour afterward, she added.
Murphy said the officer is usually assigned to the beach.
The chief didn’t identify the victim or officer but said the department’s internal affairs bureau would look into the incident.
On Sunday, the department rep deferred questions to the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office, saying it was handling the probe.
A rep for county prosecutor’s office told The Post that the agency was not, in fact, investigating the accident. And he referred questions back to Wildwood.
