A woman was killed when a stray beach umbrella hit her in the chest. Tammy Perreault, visiting Garden City Beach in South Carolina on Wednesday, was rushed to hospital after the incident. But he died an hour later from a chest wound. The beach umbrella had been blown from its anchor by strong winds when it pinned Ms. Perreault, Horry County Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard said. Off-duty doctors had desperately tried to treat the 63-year-old as they waited for an ambulance. Horry County Emergency Management spokesman Thomas Bell said the community was “hurting” after the “terrible loss.” Ms. Perreault was from Surfside, near Garden City Beach. A popular liquor store in the area, Scotty’s Beach Bar, took to Facebook to pay tribute. The incident took place at Garden City Beach in South Carolina (Image: Google) Ms Perreault was described as a “kind-hearted local” by people in her community (Image: Facebook) They wrote: “Today it is with heavy hearts that 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 that no one has a bad word to say about this woman. To be as sweet as her day every day should be a goal for everyone.’ Beach umbrellas have a sharp edge to push them into the sand, and the wide canopy allows them to get caught in a strong wind if not properly anchored, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said this week. The federal agency estimates that about 3,000 people are injured by beach umbrellas each year. U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner of Virginia called on the agency to review beach umbrella safety rules and launch a safety campaign after a Virginia woman died from an umbrella in 2016. Contact our news team by emailing [email protected] For more stories like this, check out our news page.
