Woman run over on beach in 2011 responds after teens suffer similar experience: 'Sick to my stomach'

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Erin Joynt sued Volusia County after a lifeguard ran over her head with his truck in 2011.

Speaking exclusively with FOX 35’s Kelsie Cairns, she says she wants the county to do more to stop people from getting hurt.

Two young women from Kissimmee, Florida, Sophia Kapp and Sierra Trumble, are in the hospital after a lifeguard ran them over in a pickup truck as they were sunbathing in Daytona Beach.

Joynt said, "It saddens my heart that they have to go through what I have had to go through."

The case follows a similar narrative to that of Joynt’s story. Back in 2011, the Kansas native was visiting Daytona Beach, which is famous for beach driving, when a lifeguard ran over her head as she sunbathed. She said she was so concerned when she heard about two more women who were run over while sunbathing.

"It just made me sick to my stomach because it shouldn't be happening again. It should not be happening again by county people who are supposed to be keeping these people safe and watching out for them," Joynt said.

RELATED: 2 teens hit by lifeguard truck while sunbathing in Daytona Beach

John Phillips, who is Joynt’s lawyer, also spoke with FOX 35 News.

He said, "You know the weight of these vehicles. It's a wonder they don't kill people."

Phillips represents six people who have been run over on Florida beaches over the past 10 years. He has handled his clients' cases in cities like Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, and Fernandina Beach. He explained that these accidents have implications for years.

"In Erin's case, it was similar in that she was run over, she had facial nerve damage that she didn't know years later affected her hearing," Phillips said.

FOX 35 has confirmed the parents of those teens who were run over on Memorial Day have retained lawyers.

Kapp’s mother, Rebecca Juarez, said, "Just to be laying on the ground and get hit out of nowhere when you could be sleeping, or closing your eyes, or just having a moment, it’s just very crazy, and it’s going to be very traumatic for these girls too."

As for Joynt, she went back to her life in Kansas as a teacher, and tried to put all of this behind her, but says she couldn’t stay silent when she heard it happened to more women.

"We took our case all the way to the capitol; there should have been changes by now, 13 years later."

Joynt added, "It's hurtful, and the county is very unkind."

A Volusia County jury awarded Erin $2.6 million in damages in 2014. She will likely never receive all that money because a technicality prevents governments from awarding the total amount in Florida.