![[5-5-22] Pinellas Deputy Drives Over Woman on St. Pete Beach Sheriff’s Office Says](https://www.727injury.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/5-5-22-Pinellas-Deputy-Drives-Over-Woman-on-St.-Pete-Beach-Sheriffs-Office-Says.jpg)
An on-duty Pinellas deputy drove his patrol vehicle over a 23-year-old woman lying on the sand at St. Pete Beach on Wednesday afternoon, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputy Todd Brien, 58, was on beach patrol Wednesday. He had parked his fully marked 2017 Chevrolet Tahoe behind The Lido, located at 4450 Gulf Boulevard, and was speaking to several people on the beach when dispatch asked him to check on a 911 hangup call around 1:08 p.m., the agency said in a news release Wednesday night.
Brien turned right and ran over Robin Diffenderfer, who was lying in the sand, the Sheriff’s Office said. Diffenderfer was on her back, and the front driver-side tire drove over her “right side and mid to upper back area.”
She was taken to an area hospital with injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening, according to the release.
Brien was hired by the Sheriff’s Office on Nov. 12, 2013, the release said. He was not injured.
The crash is being investigated by the agency’s Major Accident Investigation Team.
(Credit: Tampa Bay Times)
