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<H1 class=Headline>Woman Lying On Beach Hit By Truck</H1>
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Officials Continue Investigating Incident</H2>
<DIV class=posted>POSTED: 6:56 pm EST November 15, 2005</DIV>
<DIV class=updated>UPDATED: 9:06 am EST November 16, 2005</DIV>
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<DIV class=StoryBody>< !--startindex--><B class=Dateline>MIAMI BEACH, Fla. --
[/b]A 19-year-old woman said she feels blessed to survive after being hit by a vehicle while sunbathing on a South Florida beach Sunday. Jillian Gonzalez, 19, and her friend, Daniel Martinez, were lying on the beach at South Point Park with a cooler next to their heads when, they said, they heard a vehicle coming close. Gonzalez agreed to talk on-camera to NBC 6 as long as her identity was concealed.
</P>"The next thing you know, I heard a loud sound from the cooler that I had placed over my head, and he was just running over that. So, I turn to my right, and I see her get hit," Martinez said.
</P>"I knew it was a tire. I knew that it was a vehicle on my head, and I felt it running me over and I was just thinking, 'Oh my gosh, when is it going to get off of my head?'" Gonzalez said. "I was screaming. I was crying. I thought the worst."
</P>Officials said the truck was being driven by Miami Beach lifeguard Orlando Artiz, who was just returning from a safety call when, reports show, he ran over Gonzalez's head and shoulder, NBC 6's Sharon Lawson reported.
</P>"This is still being investigated, but it appears he should not have been here and was probably in violation of a safety rule," said Miami Beach Fire Rescue Chief Javier Otero.
</P>The rule was established after a similar incident in 2003, when a Miami Beach police officer ran over two French sisters on Miami Beach, killing one and seriously injuring the other, Lawson reported. The city then required city vehicles to stay west of the garbage cans that separate the soft sand from the hard-packed sand.
</P>Gonzalez said she has been having a hard time sleeping because of her ordeal.
</P>"I'm still in shock. I think I don't really understand the magnitude of what could have been," Gonzalez said.
</P>Gonzalez and Martinez said they are fortunate that they survived, but they said the incident should never have happened.
</P>"It upsets me because it just shows the negligence of the Miami Beach department, the ocean rescue. It just shows their negligence ... He ran me over and he's still not fired," Gonzalez said.
</P>While the investigation is under way, Artiz is on duty but not allowed to drive while on duty.
</P>Gonzalez and her attorney intend to pursue a lawsuit against the party at fault as soon as the investigation is completed, Lawson reported.</DIV></Table>