If there’s one thing that will ruin your day at the beach, it’s being run over by a police patrol pick-up while trying to catch some rays. Just ask 21-year-old Jessica Nystrom from Destin, Florida, who suffered just such a fate.
Ms Nystrom was sleeping on the Miramar beach near Panama City at 6pm on May 28th, 2013 when Walton County Sheriffs Office deputy Chad Biernacki drove over the right side of her body while trying to perform a U-turn.
The 30-year-old police officer told sheriffs investigators he was alerted to his mistake when he felt a ‘slight bump’ and heard a women swear. The incident lead to Ms Nystrom receiving a tyre mark over her right shoulder.
The young sunbather was taken to Sacred Heart Hospital and was released after treatment, suggesting the injuries sustained could’ve been a lot worse. Police said she had not been drinking.
A spokesman for the Walton County Force said he had never seen a similar incident in his 15 years of service. “You can never train too much when you are dealing with high-liability areas like operating a vehicle, especially when it is in crowded and congested areas like the beach,” he commented.
“It’s necessary to be there but we certainly don’t want to put anybody at risk, so we are going to do everything we can to make sure that this does not happen again,” he added.
Biernacki, who has been honoured in the past for his efforts in removing drink-drivers from the roads and for saving the life of a 6-year-old child, was found to be at fault by sheriff’s investigators and could now face disciplinary action.
Image: Flickr
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