Lifeguard Suffers Spinal Injury While Working at Huntington Beach

A California lifeguard is in a "stable but serious condition" after suffering a spinal injury while carrying out her duties.

Elizabeth Lovat, a college student and amateur athlete, was working at Huntington Beach, to the southeast of Los Angeles, on July 3 when she was injured. Officials did not say how she was harmed.

"Our priority at this time is to provide support for Elizabeth and her family while she recovers," the City of Huntington Beach said in a statement on Friday. "Out of respect for the family's privacy, no other information will be provided at this time."

Lovat was transported to a local area hospital after the incident occurred, "where she remains in a stable but serious condition," officials said.

Officials pointed to a donation page established by the Huntington Beach Fire Outreach Foundation, a non-profit that supports fire and water safety workers, for those wishing to support her recovery.

Lovat is currently taking a course in speech pathology as a senior at Iona College in New Rochelle, New York—a private Roman Catholic university with around 3,000 students—having graduated from the local Huntington Beach High School.

She has also been on the Dean's list in the last year, having graduated from high school with honors.

The Huntington Beach Fire Outreach Foundation wrote that Lovat plays D1 Women's water polo and was recognized as an All-American, having "received numerous athletics awards."

"Elizabeth has a passion for helping others and has learned and used her communication skills with American Sign Language to help her community, which has in turn shaped her career and educational goals," it said.

"She knows what it takes to overcome life's most challenging setbacks and persevere. Her dad taught her 'not to be afraid of failure' and her attitude has inspired those around her."

The Huntington Beach Fire Outreach Foundation told Newsweek that it had been asked not to disclose the amount of money raised for Lovat, but said on July 20 that "the outpouring has been amazing with over 1,000 individual donations to date."

Newsweek approached the City of Huntington Beach via email for comment on Saturday.

Injuries of various sorts to lifeguards are relatively common. According to a study by the California State University in 2017, the most common types of injury locations were the leg, foot and shoulder, usually taking the form of sprains and abrasion. But other, more serious injuries still occur.

The California Surf Livesaving Association, a beach safety awareness non-profit, says that most spinal injuries—which "can have severe lifelong consequences for the victim, parents, friends, and even rescuers"—are "associated with diving head first and hitting the bottom."

It adds that signs of a spinal injury include "bruises, scrapes or cuts to the head or face," numbness, "partial or complete paralysis," and difficulty breathing.

Correction 07/11/23, 8:15 a.m. ET: The spelling of 'Huntington' in this story has been corrected from an earlier version.

Update 07/26/23, 3:04 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include comment from the Huntington Beach Fire Outreach Foundation.