VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Police identified the Chester woman killed after a beach umbrella stabbed her in the chest as 55-year-old Lottie Michelle Belk.
The umbrella struck Belk Wednesday during high winds, a Virginia Beach rescue official told WTVR sister station WTKR.
Belk was on the beach when the anchored umbrella blew across the sand and struck her in the chest. There was no evidence of foul play.
Beach umbrellas
Police said they received a call for a cardiac arrest on the beach at 33rd Street, just after 5 p.m. Wednesday.
When crews arrived, Belk was found suffering from a life threatening injury. She was transported to a local hospital, where she later died.
"It was pretty windy down here. It kind of looked like something from the Wizard of Oz. Literally. Saw the umbrella go up in the air, and literally hit the woman, knocking her to the side. Immediately, the lifeguards, and people start rushing around. It was probably the most scariest things I've ever seen," said Hugh Martin, who works on the boardwalk.
Martin said Belk was talking to children when she was struck.
The Virginia Beach Police Department Homicide Unit is currently investigating the incident.
Earlier this year, CBS 6 reported a Henrico man lost the use of an eye after he was struck by a beach umbrella while on summer vacation in Bethany Beach, Delaware.
