By Daily Press staff
Harbor patrol officers saved a woman’s life early Thursday after she ran into the Pacific Ocean and fell incoherent, police said.
At about 3:15 a.m., Santa Monica Police officers on routine patrol, witnessed a disturbance in the 1550 parking lot, just north of the pier. After talking with a man at the scene, officers learned that his girlfriend was running toward the water in an attempt to hurt herself, police said. Apparently, the couple had been drinking.
Officers watched the woman run about 40 feet across the beach and disappear over the berm. SMPD officers flagged down Harbor Patrol Officers Tom Brierley and Donald Davis, who jumped into the water. They found the woman lying face down and being washed over by the surf. She was pulled to safety and suffered from possible hypothermia. The water temperature was 59 degrees.
She was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 23, 2003. Read the original PDF.