Sunbathing Mom Run Over by Beach Patrol Vehicle Seeks Compensation in Court

Erin Joynt was sunbathing on Daytona Beach when beach patrol ran over her.

ByABC News
June 25, 2014, 12:00 AM

— -- A Florida jury continues to hear a case today that will decide how much a tourist should be paid after being run over by a patrol vehicle while she was sunbathing on Daytona Beach.

Erin Joynt was sunbathing in July 2011 when a Beach Safety Patrol truck driven by a then-21-year-old lifeguard ran over her. Volusia County, where Daytona Beach is located, has already accepted responsibility for the incident, but the jury will decide just how much Joynt's compensation should be.

Joynt, a Kansas mother of two, sustained a fractured skull, broken ribs, memory loss, a collapsed lung, and lingering paralysis on the left side of her face, her attorney told jurors when the civil trial opened Tuesday in Orlando.

The 911 calls show the chaotic scene that followed after Joynt was run over.

"One of the law enforcement officers in the, in the, in the beach truck just ran over a lady. Please hurry. Oh, my God," the caller can be heard telling the 911 operator. "She was laying on the beach and he ran right over the top of her ... his tire went right over the top of her body."

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In court, Joynt’s attorney also showed the jury photos of the aftermath of the incident, including photos of Joynt with a bruising black eye.

A lawyer for the county argued that Joynt recovered from the accident and has been living a normal life. The county’s attorney, Larry Smith, told the court that Joynt traveled to Walt Disney World five months after the accident.

"The recovery in her body is sufficient at that point in time to come and enjoy a vacation at Disney World," Smith said in court.

Joynt, 36, won’t say how much compensation she is seeking, but in court documents her lawyer says it is more than $15,000. Joynt's husband received $134,000 from the county and her children received an additional $15,000, according to ABC affiliate WFTV in Orlando.

A lawyer for the county wouldn’t comment on the case to ABC News.

And a North Carolina woman was killed Tuesday night when a driver ran her over while she was walking on Daytona Beach, WFTV reported.

The trial is expected to last all week, and Joynt is expected to take the stand.