Deputy Accused Of Unknowingly Backing Into Man On Bike: How Did She Not Know?
CARMICHAEL (CBS13) — A Sacramento County sheriff's deputy is accused of backing over a cyclist in Carmichael Wednesday morning near Arden Way and Fair Oaks Boulevard.
Investigators say the deputy was responding to a call when she unknowingly backed into a 65-year-old man riding a bike. She continued to the call without stopping until a witness called 911 reporting the crash.
"I don't seriously think a deputy would try to run over a cyclist on purpose," said David Daigh, who lives not far from where the incident happened.
We asked former Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness how a deputy wouldn't know if they hit someone.
"A sense of awareness understanding surroundings all is very critical," he said.
"There are a number of distractions that they have to deal with and in this particular case I understand there was an emergency call to which the officer was responding. The noise that may have been in play, I don't know if the siren was sounded, the noise of traffic maybe belief or perception that the officer hit a curb," McGinness added.
And when it comes to a deputy's accountability and situational awareness, the former sheriff believes that it will be addressed in the investigation.
"Absolutely agree with that that is a very legitimate observation," he said.
The sheriff's office is not releasing any additional information, including if the deputy is on leave. Typically, if a deputy is on administrative leave or off-duty pending the outcome of an investigation, that information would be made public.
As for the man that was hit, he was taken to the hospital and suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
