Huntington Beach : Sunbathing by Beach Berms Called a Danger

The seasonal warnings about the perils of soaking up too much sun seem to be everywhere this summer. But sunbathers at local beaches should be wary of the berm, not just the burn.

Local lifeguards say that lying beneath the berm, the trough-like area at the water’s edge, can be dangerous. In the last month alone, two women have were injured after being run over while lying on Southland beaches.

Beverly Cota suffered injuries of the back and legs when she was run over by a Jeep Monday while lying between two berms near lifeguard station No. 5 on the city-owned side of Huntington Beach.

“(The lifeguard) was apparently just looking at the water,” said Cota from her hospital bed Wednesday. “I was very fortunate they didn’t get my head. Maybe they could have two guys (one to keep an eye out) in the Jeeps.”

Police Sgt. Bruce Kelley said that Cota was close to the berm line. “I’d just suggest people sit back from that a little. But with 40,000 people at the beach, I guess space is at a premium,” he said.

“It would be great to have two guys in every Jeep, one as a lookout. But we’re supposed to be conserving public funds. It’s a wonder we don’t run people over more often,” Kelley said, adding that beach patrol units often use smaller all-terrain three-wheel vehicles, but the Jeeps contain the radio and rescue equipment more easily.

“There have been some near misses,” said Jeff Ammann, a lifeguard on neighboring Huntington State Beach. “People bury themselves in the sand and stuff, but that was a real freak accident. There’s really nothing the public can do, but it’s a scare for us.”

Monday’s incident follows a serious accident May 22 when Lawndale resident Catherine Metcalfe was run over by a tractor while sunbathing on Redondo Beach. Metcalfe suffered a cracked pelvis, several fractured ribs and lung damage.

Walter Wabby,a Metcalfe’s attorney, said the 20-year-old woman is still in pain and suffers from “severe depression and anxiety. This is a pretty clear-cut case,” Wabby said. “But what can people do to to keep it from happening to them? I don’t know that there’s anything you can do. Maybe put up a flag or an umbrella.”