Rushing to give a ticket? Wildwood, NJ, cop drives over woman on beach

Wildwood Police Chief Joseph Murray has shed some light on what led to a department pickup truck running over a woman lying on the beach.

Beachgoers watched the pickup hit the sunbathing woman near Rio Grande Avenue around 3:30 PM Wednesday, according to 6 ABC Action News.

Bystanders then tried to lift the truck to get the woman from underneath.

The website WildwoodVideoArchive.com said the pickup was swerving and was "way too close" to beachgoers.

Murray told The Press of Atlantic City the officer was responding to a local "ordinance violation" in his marked Ford F-150 pickup truck. The chief acknowledged the officer ran over the woman, who was taken via medical helicopter to a hospital, and wished her a "speedy recovery."

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"Incredible job" by bystanders

The woman was visiting Atlantic City but did not disclose her identity.

Murray said that bystanders on the beach did an "incredible job" of helping the woman. The incident will be the subject of an internal investigation.

A city spokeswoman on Tuesday morning did not respond to our request for more information.

Elsewhere at the Jersey Shore this summer, cops in Belmar made national headlines after arresting a surfer who they said did not have a beach badge.