OCEANSIDE, Calif. (KSWB) – A woman was killed Monday when a piece of heavy machinery ran her over on a Southern California beach.
The woman was lying asleep on the sand in Oceanside as a construction worker was finishing part of a dredging project. The worker didn’t see the woman and ran her over with a tractor around 10 a.m., according to police.
Officers said the woman appeared to be in her late 40s to early 50s. She was fully clothed and did not have identification on her. Officers have not said if the woman was in a construction zone.
“I was going surfing around 8:30 this morning. There was a woman who was leaning against a wall, she looked like she was going to pass out,” Jay Burneo said. “I went surfing and then I walked out and saw her laying on the beach passed out.”
Burneo said he had to leave for an appointment so he asked another surfer to check on the woman. Not long after, KSWB helicopter footage showed police and crime scene tape blocking the area of the beach.
The tractor was operated by Manson Dredging, a heavy equipment company contracted by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. City lifeguards witnessed the incident, according to police.
The woman’s body was taken to the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy.
This is a developing story.