A 49-year-old woman was struck and seriously injured by a county beach maintenance vehicle while sunbathing at Venice Beach on Wednesday morning.
The accident occurred at 10:30 a.m. on the Via Marina Peninsula beach, just north of the main channel of the Marina del Rey Harbor, according to Carol Baker of the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors.
The woman, whose name was not released, was taken to UCLA Medical Center in Westwood, where she was listed in serious condition, according to Baker.
The driver, described as a veteran employee of the Department of Beach and Harbors’ beach maintenance division, did not see the woman, who had been lying face-down in the sand, Baker said.
She said he had stopped to survey and arrange for the removal of several large pieces of debris near the shoreline, and the woman was struck as he was turning his Nissan Xterra SUV away from the ocean.
The woman was “alert and oriented” at the scene, according to authorities.
Personnel from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Traffic Division interviewed the driver, who was later released.
The Department of Beaches and Harbors will conduct a review.
