Man hurt in surfing accident

Newport Beach lifeguards took an injured surfer to Hoag Hospital Sunday afternoon after an accident near the Newport Pier.

The man, who is about 40, was surfing with friends when he fell off his surfboard by the pier at about 1:35 p.m. Sunday, said lifeguard Capt. Brent Jacobson.

The man possibly hit his head on a sandbar and may have suffered a spinal cord injury, Jacobson said.

“It’s just one of the risks of surfing,” he added. “He’s probably fallen off his board thousands of times, and this particular time something caused him to strike his head on the bottom.”

Jacobson could not give the name of the man, whom he described as “an experienced local surfer.”

-- Michael Miller