A police officer in West Palm Beach, Fla. was placed on administrative leave after he reportedly ran over a couple lying on a roadway in a park to watch last week’s Super Blood Wolf Moon lunar eclipse (the photo above was taken in Miami). Reports say the man and woman were treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and were able to speak with police at the hospital.
The couple, both 24, lived near the park and had gone there to take advantage of its darkness to watch the eclipse, police say. The incident happened around 11:30 p.m. when the officer was patrolling the park in his 2018 Ford Explorer. He was reportedly driving only around 5 mph when he struck the couple in a part of the road shaped like a horseshoe.
Police Sgt. David Lefont told The Palm Beach Post that the Apoxee Wilderness Trail park was closed for the day and that the couple entered through a gate that is locked and can only be opened with a code. The couple reportedly had a camera with them, presumably to photograph the reddish-orange eclipse.
We’re not entirely sure, either, how this could have happened. The park features a 2.5-mile trail with a short paved road leading to mostly dirt, sand and boardwalks in a restored wetland, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. We guess it must get really dark and sound-absorbing in there.