Authorities said a pickup truck driver made an illegal turn and struck a woman who was sunbathing near Andy Romano Park.
ORMOND BEACH, FL. — A 51-year-old woman was critically injured after a pickup truck ran over her while she was sunbathing on Ormond Beach on March 14, according to investigators and local media reports. Authorities said the crash happened near Andy Romano Beachfront Park in an area where vehicles are allowed to drive on the sand.
The case drew renewed attention this week after Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood publicly described the crash and the woman’s family spoke about her long recovery. Investigators say the driver stayed at the scene, but the woman, identified as Daisy Hernandez Mendez, suffered severe injuries and was hospitalized first in Daytona Beach and later in Gainesville. The immediate stakes are both personal and public: a family coping with months of recovery, and fresh questions about how vehicles and beachgoers share space on one of the few Florida beaches where driving is still allowed.
According to investigators, the crash happened March 14 near Andy Romano Park in Ormond Beach. Chitwood said Hernandez Mendez was lying “just barely” inside a traffic lane when a Chevy Silverado driver made an illegal turn and struck her. In remarks carried by local television stations, Chitwood said the driver was not wearing prescription glasses required by his license. The sheriff said the driver remained at the scene while deputies and emergency crews responded. A 911 caller told dispatchers that a woman had just been run over by a truck on the beach. Deputies later described visible tire marks on the victim’s torso and abdomen. Hernandez Mendez was taken to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach and was later transferred to UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville, where she remained hospitalized more than a month after the crash.
Officials have not announced criminal charges in the case, but they said the driver was cited for multiple traffic violations. Those citations included failing to use headlights as required, failing to wear prescription glasses as required by his license and making an illegal U-turn, according to reporting that cited the crash investigation. Chitwood said the vehicle struck Hernandez Mendez in a designated driving area, a section of beach where the sand can look much like the rest of the shoreline to someone lying down or walking nearby. That detail matters because Volusia County allows vehicles in marked beach-driving zones, with a 10 mph speed limit and other safety rules, including headlights on and at least one front window open. What remains unclear is whether additional enforcement or design changes will follow. Authorities have not publicly outlined any broader policy response tied specifically to this crash.
The collision also fits into a longer pattern on Volusia County’s drivable beaches, where officials have repeatedly investigated crashes involving beachgoers and vehicles. County rules say driving and parking are permitted only in designated areas and that vehicles must stay on the seaward side of the conservation zone. The county has long promoted the beach as a place where cars can access the sand, but the arrangement has also produced periodic injuries. In February 2025, the Volusia Sheriff’s Office said an 84-year-old woman driving a Chevrolet Colorado struck a 71-year-old New York woman who was seated in a beach chair near the Silver Beach Avenue ramp in Daytona Beach. Investigators said the truck’s right rear tire ran over the beachgoer’s head, though her injuries were described as non-life-threatening. Then in April 2025, deputies said a 33-year-old Ocala man was sunbathing near the Cardinal Drive beach ramp in Ormond Beach when a Jeep left the travel lanes while backing into a parking spot and ran him over, leaving him with non-life-threatening injuries. Those earlier cases did not stop beach driving, but they sharpened the backdrop for the March 2026 crash.
For Hernandez Mendez’s family, the story has unfolded far beyond the first emergency call. Her son, Bryan Liciaga Hernandez, told WESH that he traveled from Puerto Rico soon after the crash and has stayed with his mother through her hospitalization. He said the family’s life changed the moment they got the news and described the past weeks as the hardest days he has faced. He also said his mother had been in a coma and suffered setbacks before recently showing signs of improvement, including moving her hands and toes and becoming more alert. Those comments offered one of the first public updates on her medical condition since the crash. No hearing date, charging decision or formal investigative closeout had been publicly announced by Wednesday. What comes next is likely to include continued medical treatment for Hernandez Mendez and whatever final review traffic investigators complete on the citations and crash file.
The scene described by officials is stark because it happened in a place marketed for recreation. Andy Romano Beachfront Park is a busy stretch of the Ormond Beach shoreline, known for beach access and family amenities, while nearby sections of sand can open to vehicle traffic under county rules. Chitwood said beach driving is expected to continue, even after recent crashes, and local coverage reflected the uneasy balance between a longstanding coastal tradition and the risks of mixing cars with people sitting, walking or sunbathing on the sand. In the March crash, the driver stayed put, witnesses called for help and deputies began piecing together what happened in the minutes before impact. More than a month later, the most important fact remains the woman’s condition: Hernandez Mendez was still recovering, and her family said they were holding on to signs that she was slowly getting better.
As of April 23, Hernandez Mendez remained hospitalized while investigators’ findings pointed to traffic violations rather than a reported criminal case. The next clear milestone will be any public update on her condition or any further action tied to the crash investigation.
Author note: Last updated April 23, 2026.