Three weeks ago, I reported on a $3.2 million award authorized by an Appellate Court to one sunbather whose spine was crushed by a City of Long Beach police cruiser on patrol in the summer of 2010. A similar accident happened again two days ago, just before sunset on July 16, 2017. This time two sunbathers, lying on a blanket on the beach, were run over by a Long Beach police officer. The accident occurred, according to Newsday, as the cop was driving a pick up truck less than 5 mph while he made a 3 point turn.

The victims, identified by Newsday as a 48 year old male and 36 year old female, were taken to South Nassau Community Hospital with serious injuries. The reason reported to explain why a pick up truck was being driven amongst the sunbathers? According to Newsday, some people continued swimming after the lifeguards daily shift had ended and the police were called to so notify the swimmers. Clearly, the insurance company for Long Beach will pay substantial sums to these innocent sunbathers in a pre-trial settlement, or, an even greater amount after a verdict.