SUV Seriously Injures Sunbather in Fla.

AP ^ | 10/23/03 | AP

[TomServo]

ORMOND BEACH, Fla. (AP) - A sport utility vehicle ran over a sunbather on the beach, seriously injuring the woman, authorities said.

Glenda Willits, 52, of Ormond Beach, was pinned under the front of the car after it backed into her Wednesday, said Deputy Chief Mike Hensler of the Volusia County Beach Patrol.

Willits was listed in serious condition Thursday in the Halifax Medical Center with injuries to her hip and shoulder.

The driver, a 30-year-old woman whose name was not released, apparently didn't see Willits, Hensler said.

Investigators were trying to determine whether to file charges.

Cars are allowed on many Florida beaches, including Ormond Beach.

In February, a police officer drove over two sisters on Miami's South Beach, killing one and injuring the other. The officer was not charged, but the women's family sued the city for negligence.

[Ditter]

The last time I was in NJ was 3 summers ago. I was driving from Cape Cod thru NYC, NJ to NC then on to Houston. I don't remember hiway numbers. A few years before that I sat in your airport for 5 hours. I didn't see many prosperous looking people, but if you say so.

[Question_Assumptions]

The last time I was in NJ was 3 summers ago.

I suspect that there are a lot more SUVs in both NJ and Houston than there were three years ago. That's part of why I asked.

I was driving from Cape Cod thru NYC, NJ to NC then on to Houston. I don't remember hiway numbers.

I would guess that you took the Turnpike and you probably saw some refineries and then some woods. If you paid a toll, it was probably the Turnpike you were on. That road is not a very good advertisement for New Jersey.

I didn't see many prosperous looking people, but if you say so.

You wouldn't see them from travelling from NYC to NC or from the airport, just like I wouldn't see Houston's SUVs from the Houston airport. Look at real estate prices in Bergen, Somerset, and Monmouth counties. Some towns are literally filled will homes that cost more than a million dollars around here.

[Capt.YankeeMike]

Yes. But only in the private sector does licensing ever really mean anything (or certification, like ISO9002 type stuff) when the goobermint gets involved, its a money grab, somewhere someone has his calulator and slide rule and says "for every new safety requirement, we lose another % of licensees, and thus X amount of $$$. Somewhere there is a point where the bare minimum is required to generate the most revenue..why are drivers test so ridiculously easy? why am I, with terrible eyesight, not given a road test? because it NOT really about safety, but about maximizing revenue...

[rcofdayton]

Those rascally SUVs! They do the meanest things!

[Question_Assumptions]

I think that the other reason for driver's licenses is that it gives them a number to keep track of you and something to revoke.