Bicyclist suffers head injury after hit by Hemet motorist
HEMET — A bicyclist was hospitalized and a motorist was shaken up after the bike rider reportedly darted into traffic and was struck by a car early Saturday evening, March 30. The accident happened on Florida Ave., east of Palm Ave., in front of Hemet’s Days Inn.
LEADING THE RCNS HEADLINES:
Three-vehicle, head-on crash possibly caused by drowsy driver
City of Hemet Police and Fire Departments, along with AMR and other emergency personnel, were dispatched to the accident around 6:50 p.m., after receiving reports of a red Chevy Camaro that hit a bicyclist. 911 callers reported the bicyclist was down in the roadway and injured, and was bleeding heavily from the head.
Hemet police officers were first to arrive at the scene and found the bike rider alert and sitting on the sidewalk. His heavily damaged beach cruiser was in the street nearby. Officers immediately began treating the injured rider, bandaging his bloody head and checking him for other injuries, as fire and rescue personnel began arriving.
A Hemet police officer treats a bicyclist who sustained a head injury after he was struck by a motorist. The driver later told officers the rider darted out into traffic directly in front of their Camaro. Gary Rainwater/Timothy Franzese photo
Paramedics evaluated and treated the bicyclist for a minor head injury before transporting him to Hemet Valley Hospital for further treatment of his head wound and other minor injuries.
The shaken up driver who struck the bicyclist remained at the scene and was cooperative with officials. The driver later told officers investigating the collision that the bike rider “came out of nowhere.”
The Camaro that struck the bicyclist sustained minor front-end and windshield damage, as well as a flat tire from running over the bike.
Hemet PD’s investigation into the collision is ongoing, but the driver of the car was found to be sober and was not cited for any vehicle code violations.
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Trevor Montgomery, 47, moved last year to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.