A woman relaxing on the beach in Wildwood, New Jersey, was allegedly run over by a police officer during a freak accident last week.
According to the Star-Ledger, the incident happened on Wednesday afternoon. Wildwood Police Chief Joseph Murphy told the Atlantic City Press 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 operating the pickup truck was responding to an ordinance violation when the crash occurred.
“On a call for service, the officer was down in the performance of his duties,” the police chief said. “Terribly, he ran over a victim who was lying on the beach.”
Murphy added that the victim was visiting Wildwood while on vacation before Labor Day weekend.
“There was a lot of help from people on the beach,” the police chief added. “Citizens on the Beach did an incredible job.”
A pedestrian named Rose Simon told WPVI-TV that fellow beachgoers immediately panicked when the car ran over the woman.
“Everybody was gathering around screaming, yelling at the guy in the truck, ‘Stop! There’s someone under your truck! You hit somebody!”’ recalled the Chalfont, Pa., resident.
“A bunch of guys came around the area, and they said we had to lift the front of the truck to get him out,” Simon continued.
Simone told the Star-Ledger that she noticed the woman before the incident happened. While the victim was wearing black clothes Lying on a beach towel.
“It was an accident, obviously. 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.
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