VERO BEACH — Officials found a Jeep Grand Cherokee stuck in the sand in the vicinity of several sea turtle nests on South Beach in Vero Beach early Thursday morning.
The man who officials say admitted to driving the Jeep on the beach after the park closed the night before was charged with driving over the dune line – a criminal offense, and served a warning for destruction of habitat.
Rick Herren, a biologist for Indian River County with more than 20 years of experience working with sea turtles, said the vehicle narrowly missed several marked and unmarked sea turtle nests. Had the driver caused damage to a nest, he could have faced much larger penalties including fines and jail time.
“We have one of the highest density in sea turtle nesting any where in the world,” Herren said. “We have thousands. We can’t mark them all.”
Herren said the nests are scattered up and down the beach between the high tide line and the dunes.
Though some counties in Florida allow vehicles to drive on certain beaches, Indian River County is not one of them.
Certain ATVs used by law enforcement and county employees for beach preservation purposes are allowed to drive on the beach with a special permit.
“ATVs use low pressure, inflated tires,” Herren said.
The PSI of a tire on a permitted ATV is approximately five, causing very little pressure on the surface. In contrast, the Jeep Grand Cherokee’s tires were estimated at approximately 40 PSI and capable of significant damage to the turtle nests.
“We see at least one person every year who thinks it’s cool to drive on the beach,” said Officer Tim Miller of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation. “If you run over a turtle nest, it can turn into a felony.”
A towing company was called Thursday morning to remove the Jeep that had sunk tire-deep into the sand. The driver was issued a notice to appear in court.
