A woman was speared to death by an umbrella on a windy beach in a horror accident a judge has called a "wrongful death".
Tammy Perreault, 63, was smacked in the torso by the awol umbrella at the beach near Calhoun Drive in Garden City, South Carolina, in August last year and died in hospital of her injuries.
Her husband Michael Perreault filed an action in Horry County Common Pleas Court against Beach Services, Ltd. and Garrett Todd, the company that owned the umbrella, along with its owner.
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"It was a regular breezy day," Michael told NBC at the time. "No other umbrellas or beach blankets or anything got foiled."
Sherry White, one of the friends who was at the beach that day, told NBC station WMBF-TV "a gust of wind that came through took an umbrella through the air and it just kept going and going".
"Everyone says, 'Duck,' and we did, but unfortunately she was in the line of fire," added White.
Mike told NBC News that the umbrella "went through her arm into her rib cage".
Good Samaritans and off-duty medical professionals provided initial care to the victim on the beach before she was rushed to hospital, where she died of chest trauma less than an hour after the incident.
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ABC 15 News now reports both Beach Services, Ltd. and Garrett Todd "denied liability and responsibility" but offered to settle, court documents read.
However, the value of the settlement has been redacted from the documents, as the case is now sealed, the channel states.
They said Beach Services, Ltd. and Garrett Todd believe disclosing this information to the public could be detrimental to their business as the coverage of the incident has already negatively impacted them, case filings stated; they also believe it could affect the other tourism businesses in Horry County.
Michael was married to Tammy for 27 years and told NBC News that she had recently retired at the age of 62.
"She was one of a kind," he told the outlet. "Tammy loved everybody, she never had a bad word for anybody at all."
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