In a freak accident, strong winds lifted the umbrella from the sand at Garden City Beach on Wednesday at 12.40pm. and led her to Tammy Perreault’s chest, Horry County Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard said. Perreault’s friends said they saw the umbrella blown away by the wind and screamed at the 63-year-old to “duck” – but it was too late. Sherry White, who was one of Perreault’s best friends, saw the umbrella pole hit Perreault in the chest. “A gust of wind that came through blew an umbrella through the air and it just kept going and going,” White told WMBF News. “Everybody says ‘duck’, and we did, but unfortunately he was in the line of fire.” Perreault died about an hour later at the Waccamaw ER from chest trauma. White said Perrault and her husband Mike were “inseparable,” describing her friend as “the most loving and kindest person I think I’ve ever met.”
A beachgoer, Tammy Perrault (pictured right with husband Mike) was killed Wednesday after a loose beach umbrella impaled her in the chest, authorities said. The umbrella was blown from its mooring by the wind around 12:40 p.m. and struck Perreault while on a Garden City beach, Horry County Chief Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard told news outlets. Sherry White, who was one of Perreault’s best friends, saw the umbrella pole hit Perreault’s chest (pictured together) The beach in Garden City, South Carolina, on a busy day in 2019 A gust of wind in Garden City, South Carolina (pictured) blew a beach umbrella out of the sand, lifting a local enjoying the day “He was the most loving and kindest person I think I’ve ever met. He never had a bad word to say about anybody,” White said. “She always put others first and she and her husband were inseparable. If you’ve seen Mike, you’ve seen Tammy. They had great passion and love for each other.’ Scotty’s Beach Bar, a local hangout where Perrault was a regular, posted a remembrance on Facebook. “Today it is with heavy hearts that we mourn the loss of a dear friend and kind 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.” They asked everyone to keep Tammy and her husband Mike in their prayers, adding: “Mike, we love you and are so sorry for your loss.” White said Perrault and her husband Mike (pictured together) were “inseparable”, describing her friend as “the most loving and kindest person I think I’ve ever met”. Scotty’s Beach Bar, a local hangout where Perrault was a regular, said “no one has anything bad to say about this woman. To be as sweet as her day every day should be a goal for everyone.’ Perrault is pictured on a local beach 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. The federal agency estimates that about 3,000 people are injured by beach umbrellas each year. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner of Virginia asked the agency to review safety rules for beach umbrellas and launch a safety campaign after a Virginia woman died from an umbrella in 2016. The majority of people injured by beach and patio umbrellas are women over 40, according to the Journal of Safety Research.
They wrote: “The most commonly reported injury was laceration followed by contusion or abrasion and internal organ injury, and the body part with the highest rate of injury was the head/neck followed by the upper extremity,” the study said.