City truck hits and injures woman lying on the sand in Newport Beach

A woman was taken to a hospital after being hit by a pickup driven by an on-duty city worker while she was lying on the sand in Newport Beach on Thursday afternoon, officials said.

The employee was driving a city-owned GMC Canyon just east of lifeguard Tower 20 when the woman was struck around 1:15 p.m., said Jennifer Manzella, spokeswoman for the Newport Beach Police Department.

The truck had been traveling at low speeds toward the ocean just south of the Newport Pier when the woman was hit, Manzella said.

The woman was taken to a nearby trauma center with injuries to her chest and pelvis. Manzella said the injuries did not appear to be critical or life-threatening.

Neither the woman nor the driver has been identified. Officials did not say what department the employee works for.

Newport Beach officials said in a statement that they could not comment about the incident until “a thorough investigation is completed.”

“We extend our sincerest sympathies and concern to the person injured and hope for a fast and full recovery,” the statement read. “We go to great lengths to provide the utmost safety and service to our residents and visitors and are dismayed that this occurred.”