FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. – A St. Marys woman is lucky to be alive after she was run over by a sport-utility vehicle Wednesday afternoon while sunbathing on the beach in Nassau County.
The hit-and-run unfolded about 4:30 p.m. at Peters Point Park, a beach access off South Fletcher Avenue in an unincorporated part of Amelia Island, the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office said.
The woman, who asked not to be named, said she had gotten off work early, so she went out to the beach. She was lying down on a bright-colored beach towel when the Jeep ran over her.
“I had my eyes closed and (was) just lying there enjoying my time and I felt a lot of pain and I looked up and there was a Jeep on top of my legs,” the woman told News4Jax on Thursday.
The first thing she did was dial 911. “I just got ran over. My legs just got ran over by a white Jeep that is pulling out right now,” she told the operator.
Before she knew what was happening, the driver took off. The Jeep, described as a light-colored late model Wrangler with a black canvas top, was last seen heading toward State Road 200.
The woman was taken to Baptist Medical Center Nassau, where she was treated for injuries to her legs. Surprisingly, she didn’t suffer any broken bones or more serious injuries.
But a trip to the hospital with bruises and tire marks tracked across her legs isn’t how she envisioned her afternoon going when she left work Wednesday.
“I could’ve died,” she said. “And that has been the hardest part for me to get over.”
She’s surprised the driver didn’t stop. After all, she wondered, what if she had been a child?
“If I was laying the way that everybody else lays, he would’ve ran over my head, or my neck and my chest.”
Anyone with information about this case or the whereabouts of the driver or vehicle involved is asked to call the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office at (904) 225-5174.