Deputy Responding To 911 Hang Up Call Runs Over Woman Sunbathing On Beach

An on-duty Florida sheriff’s deputy ran over a woman as she was sunbathing on a beach.

The victim, identified as 23-year-old Robin Diffenderfer, was at the St. Pete Beach on Wednesday when the accident took place.

While Diffenderfer was sunbathing in the sand, Deputy Todd Brien, 58, was parked in his fully marked vehicle behind 4450 Gulf Boulevard and was talking to pedestrians on the beach, according to PEOPLE.

Deputy Brien “was parked facing west in his 2017 fully Marked Chevrolet Tahoe. While Deputy Brien was speaking to several pedestrians on the beach, he was dispatched to a 911 hangup call at another location,” the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.

Deputy Brien, from his parked position, took a right turn as he began responding to the 911 hangup call at around 1 p.m. He then struck Diffenderfer as she was lying on her back in the sand.

“According to investigators, the front driver side tire of the Tahoe drove over Diffenderfer’s right side and mid to upper back area,” the statement added.

Diffenderfer was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to the New York Post.

Deputy Brien, who was hired in November 2013 and spent nearly a decade working for the department, did not sustain any injuries in the incident.

Deputies assigned to the Major Accident Investigation Team are currently investigating the deputy-involved crash, the sheriff's office said in a statement.

In an unrelated incident reported last year, a woman in the United Arab Emirates lost her life after her husband ran over her while parking his car.

The couple, both of Indian origin, had arrived at a hospital for a health checkup on the day of the incident. The wife, 45-year-old Liji, was standing in front of the vehicle and was giving signals to help her husband park. The husband accidentally “raced forward” and “jammed” Liji between the car and the compound wall, Sajad Nattika, president of the Indian Association Umm Al Quwain, told Gulf News. Liji was pronounced dead following the incident.