Sunbathing couple run over on beach file suit

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (WSVN) -- A couple who only wanted to enjoy a day on the beach when they found themselves in the path of danger is filing a lawsuit.

"And before we knew it, there was a truck over our heads," said Denise Moure. "It has caused us a lot of pain, a lot of trauma."

Moure was run over while sunbathing last Sunday on Miami Beach. Wednesday, a red welt still shows around her eye. Meanwhile, her husband has staples in his head.

Police said they were hit by a pickup truck belonging to Boucher Brothers, a company that provides beach chairs and umbrellas to beach goers. The driver was cited with careless driving.

One moment they are sunbathing, the next looking up at the undercarriage of a truck. The couple shared a picture that shows the truck. If you look at the lower right-hand corner, you can see the towel of the sunbathers. "I just felt a lot of pain and anguish because I couldn't move," said Moure. "My hand was underneath the tire, and I started to panic."

Her husband, Orlando Jiminez, said, "I was basically sleeping, with my headphones on, and the next thing, I heard this engine roar, and I hear her scream and I looked up and I see that there is an engine on top off me."

The couple said the tires of the truck just missed their heads. "Then, when I look to my right, I can only see like the side of my wife."

This couple are not the first people injured while sunbathing. Last July, a Miami Beach Police officer was arrested for drinking and joy riding on his ATV after two people were left injured. In 2003, a French tourist died after she was run over on the beach.

Personal injury attorney Bryant Esquenazi said, "The city really needs to take safety seriously. It needs to make it a priority out there on the beach."

A statement from Boucher Brothers read in part, "We've been reviewing and will review our policies and procedures to make sure this never happens again. We take the safety of citizens very seriously."

"I think every night, why are we here and how lucky we are to be here," Moure reflected.

Part of the reason the couple are speaking out and showing their injuries is that they want to make sure this never happens again.

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