Lifeguard impaled by umbrella pole on N.J. beach says she was “just trying not to freak out”
WCBS, FAMILY PHOTOS, CNN
By Christine Sloan
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NEW JERSEY (WCBS, WLNY) — A New Jersey lifeguard who was impaled by an umbrella left a hospital on Thursday and later recounted the terrifying ordeal.
Asking to be identified only as “Alex,” the 18-year-old shared a hospital photo of her holding up a piece of the pole that went through her arm on Asbury Park Beach on Wednesday.
“It missed almost everything important, so no nerves, tendons or arteries were hit,” Alex said in a phone interview with CBS News New York’s Christine Sloan.
She said she knows she’s lucky to be alive after the 6-foot umbrella pole went through her armpit.
“The pole was very close to, um, major blood vessels. I was told, like, it was a half a centimeter away from at least one major blood vessel,” Alex said.
Here’s what she says happened
The second-year college student said she was tying the umbrella to the lifeguard stand to shield herself from the intense heat, when the bizarre accident occurred.
“But our rope was frayed … too short to tie,” she said. “A gust of wind came and moved the umbrella off of the stand. I went to catch it and it pulled me off the stand with it and I landed on the pole.”
Alex said fellow lifeguards had to hold the open umbrella and pole steady so it wouldn’t do more damage. Paramedics quickly arrived.
“Going to need that bandsaw for sure down here,” she recounted one of the first responders saying. “They took a bandsaw and cut both ends so there was less pole sticking out of me, so they could transport me easier.”
Alex somehow kept calm during the entire ordeal
Kate Hagerman, of the lifeguard station at Asbury Beach Park, said she was stunned by what happened, and was even more surprised by how Alex handled it.
“She was very calm. She stayed calm throughout the whole thing and alert, too, which is crazy usually. If I was in that situation, I was, but I think as a lifeguard that is very important and shows a lot about her character,” Hagerman said.
When asked how she kept her composure, Alex said, “I have no idea. I was just trying not to freak out. I feel like I am that kind of person where panicking, I am just calm.”
Alex said she’s grateful to fellow lifeguards and the paramedics, and plans on going back to her lifeguard duties after her six-week recovery because her job is rewarding.
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