A woman has been killed after a loose beach umbrella impaled her in the chest in South Carolina.
Tammy Perreault, 63, was hit by an umbrella which was blown by the wind from its anchoring while she was at Garden City Beach on Wednesday, Horry County Chief Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard said.
Ms Perreault died about an hour later in hospital from chest trauma, police said.
Beach umbrellas have a spiked end to help push them into the sand and their wide canopy allows them to get caught up in a strong wind if they are not anchored properly, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission said.
Scotty’s Beach Bar, located near Garden City Beach, paid tribute to Ms Perreault describing her as a “dear friend” in a post on online.
It said: “Today with heavy hearts we mourn the loss of a dear friend and kind hearted local, Tammy Perreault.
“Some things we will never begin to understand but what we do know is no one has a bad thing to say about this woman.
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“To be as sweet as her day in and day out should be a goal for all.”
The federal agency estimates about 3,000 people are injured by beach umbrellas every year.
US senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner of Virginia asked the safety agency to review rules for beach umbrellas and start an awareness campaign after a Virginia woman was killed by an umbrella in 2016.
