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Sunbather run over by Fla. beach patrol

The driver, 21-year-old Thomas Moderie, is a part-time seasonal lifeguard who has been with the county for five years

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This truck was driven by Daytona Beach lifeguard Thomas Moderie when he accidentally ran over the head of a sunbather.

Associated Press

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Authorities say a Kansas woman who was run over by a Beach Patrol pickup truck in central Florida is in stable condition.

Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Sgt. Kim Montes says 33-year-old Erin Michelle Joynt of Wichita, Kan., was sunbathing on the beach when the incident happened just after 10 a.m. Sunday. She is being treated at a Daytona Beach hospital.

Volusia County spokesman Dave Byron says the driver, 21-year-old Thomas Moderie, is a part-time seasonal lifeguard who has been with the county for five years. He had been flagged down by someone reporting broken glass on the shore and was driving to deal with that when he struck Joynt. Byron says Moderie “just didn’t see the woman.” Per standard procedure, Moderie will undergo drug testing.