Woman impaled by flying beach umbrella in ‘freak fatal accident’ on seaside trip
A woman's beach day came to a horrific end when she was impaled by a flying umbrella and killed.
Tammy Perreault, 63, was struck at Garden City, South Carolina, at around 12.40pm on Wednesday (August 10) by an umbrella being carried by the wind.
Horry County Coroner said Tammy suffered chest trauma, and off-duty medical professionals rushed to help her at the scene before first responders arrived.
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Tammy was then rushed to Waccamaw ER, but sadly could not be saved and died at 1.33pm.
Thomas Bell, a spokesman for Horry County Emergency Management, told local news channel WMBF: "This is a terrible loss, and we know our community is hurting.
"Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victim as they navigate through this difficult time."
Scotty’s Beach Bar in Perreault's native Surfside Beach took to social media to post about Tammy's tragic death.
The post read: "Today with heavy hearts we mourn the loss of a dear friend and kind-hearted local, Tammy Perreault.
"Some things we will never begin to understand but what we do know is no one has a bad thing to say about this woman.
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"To be as sweet as her day in and day out should be a goal for all."
Horry County is continuing to investigate details of this latest fatal incident, WMBF reports.
Sadly this freak accident is not a one-off – beach umbrellas have caused serious injuries and deaths in the past.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that there were about 2,800 unconfirmed beach umbrella-related injuries from 2010 to 2018.
In 2016 a similar incident saw 55-year-old Lottie Belk killed by a flying umbrella while she celebrated her birthday and anniversary in Virginia Beach, US.
The umbrella struck mental health worker Lottie at around 5pm on June 8, 2016, and much like Perreault, she later died as a result of her injuries.
Belk's oldest daughter Ashley Denton said her mother was a "loving lady".
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