13-Year-Old Impaled by Flying Beach Umbrella During Family Trip: 'He Couldn't Get Out of the Way'

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A 13-year-old boy was seriously injured on Friday when a flying beach umbrella barrelled into his shoulder during a family beach trip in Massachusetts, fire officials say.

“I was sitting right here, and a little gust of wind came up, and the umbrella popped straight up in the air,” witness Chris Carsontold WCVB. “Before anybody could grab it, it just kind of rolled over, and the kid was standing in the way on the beach. He couldn’t get out of the way.”

Witnesses said the boy was bleeding profusely and beachgoers stepped in to help before emergency responders got to the scene, WCVB reported. He is expected to make a full recovery.

Fire Lt. Nick Ouellettetold CNNthat the boy was struck in the left shoulder, adding that everyone at the scene appeared “surprisingly calm.”

“When I saw that I started to run down and when I got down there, there was like a hole in the kid’s arm so I started to talk to him,” said witness Jacob Vargus. “Another lady started tying a tourniquet while others were calling the paramedics.”

Beach umbrella accidents are fairly common during the summer months as families head to the beach to keep cool. But experts say there are simple ways to prevent such incidents. Experts toldABC Newsthat it’s best to avoid using “flimsy, plastic” umbrellas. Santa Monica Lifeguard Captain Julio Rodriguez said the base of the umbrella should be dug at least 16 inches into the sand.

“You can either use a shovel to dig the hole deep enough to set the stake and pack it in, or once you drive the stake into the sand, rock it back and forth,” said Rodriguez. “That typically gets it in deeper into the sand.”

source: people.com