Flying umbrella impales woman visiting beach with her family, Florida officials say

A woman was impaled by a wayward beach umbrella that sent her to a hospital, Florida authorities said.

On Saturday, June 22, a beachgoer was struck “through” the leg by a flying umbrella, a Brevard County spokesperson told McClatchy News.

Officials said the woman was sitting by the ocean when a rental umbrella became dislodged from the sand and hit her, WOFL reported.

The nearby Brevard County Ocean Rescue helped the woman until fire rescue could take her to a hospital, the spokesperson said. First responders quickly severed the canopy of the umbrella to “lessen pain” for the woman, according to the county official.

Officials said the victim had been visiting the beach with her family, WESH reported from Cocoa Beach police.

Information about the woman’s condition was unavailable on June 26.

The incident seems like a freak accident, but social media users said they have witnessed similar scenarios.

“My husband got hit in the leg by one last month,” a woman wrote on Facebook. “He had a gnarly knot on his leg from it. I don’t think they should be banned, but there should be rules in place to keep them safe. Stabbing an umbrella in the sand is not how to stabilize them and not enough people realize this.”

Between recent shark attacks and drownings at Florida beaches, others remarked that the hazards to worry about at the beach seem to be mounting.

“I’ve almost been nailed numerous times over the years,” another person wrote. “Some folks don’t know how to properly set up and anchor a beach umbrella and wind makes them fly!”

Cocoa Beach is on Florida’s Atlantic coast, about a 60-mile drive southeast from Orlando.

This story was originally published June 26, 2024 at 5:41 PM with the headline "Flying umbrella impales woman visiting beach with her family, Florida officials say."