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A woman was killed this week in Garden City, South Carolina, after a beach umbrella flew into the air and then struck her — a tragic reminder that beach umbrellas can quickly become dangerous projectiles.
After becoming airborne, the umbrella struck and impaled 63-year-old Tammy Perot as she sat on the beach, according to statements from Horry County spokeswoman and county Chief Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard.
Off-duty paramedics and bystanders helped the woman before she was transported to a hospital, where she later died. According to local reports, the umbrella was blown loose by winds of 10 to 15 mph.
‘Horrifying accident’: Woman killed by umbrella in windy Virginia Beach
Her death is the latest such umbrella-related fatality. In 2016, 55-year-old Lottie Michelle Belk was celebrating her anniversary and birthday in Virginia Beach when a flying beach umbrella struck her in the torso, causing fatal injuries. In that case, Virginia Beach police said a “strong gust of wind” ripped the umbrella off the ground.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, there were 2,800 beach umbrella-related injuries treated in emergency rooms nationwide in the nine years between 2010 and 2018. A December 2021 study from the Journal of Safety Research found that most -some 5,512 incidents involving beach umbrellas in the United States were referred to emergency rooms, and that the victims were disproportionately women over 40.
Wind was involved in more than 50 percent of beach umbrella-related injuries, according to a 2021 study. Tears, bruises and abrasions, and internal organ injuries made up the three most common injuries. The study suggests that “policymakers should educate the public about the potential dangers of beach umbrellas and patio umbrellas.”
The CPSC provides advice to the public on how to properly set up a beach umbrella, advising beachgoers to swing their beach umbrellas back and forth until they are two feet deep in the sand and angle the umbrella into the wind to prevent them from being blown away. The CPSC also recommends using some sort of weight or anchor to hold beach umbrellas in place.
However, some safety advocates say the CPSC’s recent efforts to protect beachgoers from fraudulent umbrellas aren’t enough.
Bill Schermerhorn, president of beachBUB USA, a company that sells beach umbrellas embraced by safety advocates, said the latest CPSC guidelines fall short.
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Schermerhorn is concerned that the CPSC’s advice to angle the umbrella against the wind is not enough. The wind on the beach can change quickly and unexpectedly, meaning that an umbrella that is positioned correctly one hour can become a hazard the next, especially when it doesn’t take a strong wind to dislodge a poorly anchored umbrella.
“If you’ve ever been to the beach and tried to place an umbrella eight inches into the sand, much less two feet, you know it’s an impossible task,” Schermerhorn said.
Schermerhorn, who is working with ASTM International to help develop safety standards for beach umbrellas, said he wants the CPSC to produce a stronger public message about beach umbrella safety.
Karla Crosswhite-Chigbue, a CPSC spokeswoman, wrote in an email that the agency has been investigating the incident since this week. “CPSC staff is also currently working with a standards development organization in hopes of developing a standard that could help establish requirements for reliable and safe beach umbrellas and anchor systems,” she said.
Bad weather in Bethany Beach, Delaware, on Aug. 5 blew beach umbrellas into the ocean. (Video: The Washington Post)
Last week viral video of Bethany Beach, Delaware, showed dozens of beach umbrellas flying through the air and thrown into the ocean after a severe thunderstorm with winds up to 40 mph ripped them off.
“It’s one of the many videos out there where the umbrellas are dancing down the beach … because they’re not weighted, they’re just stuck in the sand,” Schermerhorn said.
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