A relaxing morning on a beach turned into a nightmare for a man who was sunbathing when a Jeep rolled directly over his body and head.
A man who was sunbathing on a Florida beach was injured after a Jeep ran him over. Credit: Alexander Spatari / Getty
The harrowing incident happened Saturday (April 5) on Ormond Beach, Florida, where Coleson Janey, 33, had laid out on the sand to soak up some sun.
But that peace shattered when a 61-year-old woman allegedly drove her Jeep Wrangler off the designated driving lanes and right over him.
“I guess I had maybe fallen asleep for a little bit, and then I woke up to a tire coming over my head,” Janey told WESH 2 from his hospital bed.
According to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office, the woman was trying to back into a parking spot when she veered off-course and ran over Janey, who was lying on a towel. The Ocala man was left “screaming bloody murder” as he was crushed by the more than 4,100-pound vehicle.
“I was just screaming. Screaming my head off, screaming blood murder, of course, because I was just in so much pain,” he said.
The trauma forced Janey into emergency surgery after he was left with a shattered arm and leg.
“Now I have a forearm that’s broken in two places,” he explained. “Both bones in the forearm, clean break. And then my femur, which was broken, that they just had to put a titanium rod in yesterday.”
He also suffered facial and body bruising during the incident, but miraculously, no life-threatening injuries.
The driver ran over the man with a Jeep Wrangler after attempting to back into a parking spot. (Stock image). Credit: Smith Collection/Gado / Getty
Janey remembered the bizarre sensation of feeling like he had “two brains” - one panicking in agony, the other assessing the damage to his limbs.
He recalled seeing his “forearm that’s broken in two places” and a leg that looked “mangled".
The woman behind the wheel remained at the scene and cooperated with deputies, who said there were no signs of impairment. She was cited for careless driving.
With the investigation still ongoing, Janey is focusing on recovery. “I’m just thankful to be alive,” he said. “And able to walk again at some point.”
His family, meanwhile, is surprised the driver wasn’t hit with a reckless driving charge - something that could still change once the investigation wraps up.