Video shows loose beach umbrella narrowly miss toddler in Myrtle Beach

High winds sent a family's beach umbrella tumbling, coming inches from striking a North Carolina woman's son, WJZY reports."I feel like I almost had a mini, mother heart attack," said Ashton Duggan, who is from Waxhaw, of the moment her son was almost hit.animal kid umbrella

The umbrella had been placed in the ground for them by lifeguards. After the near miss, the lifeguards rushed over to them."They ran over and you know, just hugged us and one of the lifeguards who dug our hole cried," Duggan said.

The lifeguard's tears, she said, were from a flashback."Because he actually saw a lady pass away last summer on the beach due to the same type of accident," she said.

The family is now warning others of the dangers associated with beach umbrellas and high winds."You do hear of these stories happening every year, yet, it never seems real until you see it happening with your own eyes," Duggan said.