By Theresa Braine
New York Daily News
ASBURY PARK, N.J. 鈥� A lifeguard was hurled by a rogue gust of wind at New Jersey鈥檚 Asbury Park Beach on Wednesday.
The incident occurred just after 9 a.m. as the 19-year-old was , Beach Safety Supervisor John Bongiovanni told the Asbury Park Press. The umbrella gets inserted into the bench to give lifeguards shade for the day.
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Just as she was doing so, 鈥渁 gust of wind came along and started to pull it up,鈥� Bongiovanni said. 鈥淪o as it pulled up, she reached and tried to grab it. She grabbed it and pulled it down, and I鈥檓 assuming it tilted into the wind and blew it back at her.鈥�
The woman tumbled off the 5-foot-tall lifeguard chair while wrestling with the 6-foot pole-turned-projectile, and the wind drove the one-inch-diameter aluminum rod straight into her front left shoulder, Asbury Park Fire Chief Kevin Keddy told ABC News. It came out her upper back, , he said.
First responders found the woman on the ground, with 鈥�,鈥� Keddy told Jersey Shore Online, treating her until help arrived.
鈥淪he basically had a 6-foot umbrella pole that ,鈥� Battalion Chief Chris Barkalow of the Asbury Park Fire Department told the Philadelphia Inquirer. 鈥淲e had to cut it into manageable sections. We can鈥檛 put a 6-foot umbrella into the ambulance.鈥�
To keep vibration to a minimum while they cut, first responders resorted to a battery-powered band saw, he said. The injured lifeguard was alert and conscious throughout the ordeal. 鈥淪he鈥檚 a ,鈥� he told WPVI-TV.
The woman was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, where she underwent surgery and was expected to make a full recovery. Most likely, the woman will be , NBC News reported.
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