Tourist Impaled By Flying Umbrella During Wind Gust On Jersey Shore Beach

A British tourist visiting the U.S. will have an interesting scar and a story to talk about when she goes home after a freak accident saw a beach umbrella impale her.

According to the New York Post, Margaret Reynolds, 67, of London, England, had decided to stop in at the Jersey shore in Seaside Heights for a relaxing time on the beach. However, a freak wind gust at around 4:30 p.m. on Monday saw a beach umbrella impale the sunbathing woman’s ankle.

Prior to the event, the conditions were relatively calm on the beach according to a statement released by the victim and reported by NJ.com.

“It was a beautiful day and a gust of wind blew the umbrella,” Margaret Reynolds revealed to NJ Advance Media from the Jersey Shore University Medical Center. “It was just an accident.”

Once the beach umbrella struck, emergency services were called as those present on the beach tried to stem the flow of blood.

Ricky Zepeda, 25, a graphic designer from Atlanta, Georgia, witnessed the freak accident and told the New York Post what happened.

“A really strong gust of wind knocked some umbrellas around and one of them flew into the lady. As soon as it happened, she screamed, ‘My leg!'”

Zepeda indicated that the beach umbrella penetrated Margaret Reynold’s leg at her upper ankle and came out “about five inches on the other side.”

“It wasn’t even a minute that someone were putting stuff on her leg so she wouldn’t bleed out,” he explained. “She didn’t even say anything at that point. It was actually her friend who was making noise and crying on the phone.”

Ricky posted an image of the incident to his Instagram account.

“This lady had an umbrella go through her leg 5 feet away from me!” Zepeda explained in the caption. “There was a strong gust of wind, there were a couple umbrellas flying. One of the corners of a random one went through her… leg! That could have been me!”

In order to free Margaret, Assistant Fire Chief William Rumbolo had to cut away the part of the umbrella known as the “stretcher,” which is the part of the umbrella that connects it to the frame, and remove a metallic rib, according to Police Detective Steve Korman in an interview with the New York Post.

Rumbolo used bolt cutters to “dislodge the umbrella.” Margaret Reynolds was then rushed to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune. It is reported that she is in a “good condition.” It is expected she will continue her recovery at the Jersey Shore University Medical Center.

Prior to the incident, Margaret was doing a road trip to Canada during her vacation. It is unclear yet whether she will continue on to Canada after her hospital stay is complete or whether she will now return home to England.