Two-vehicle Burney crash showers pedestrians with flying debris

BURNEY — A Burney woman and her grandson preparing to cross Main St. in Burney escaped injury when they were nearly struck by flying debris after a two-vehicle, rear-end collision late Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 7. The minor injury collision happened along SR-299E at Plumas St., in front of Tri Counties Bank.

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CHP, Burney Mountain Station deputies, and other emergency personnel were dispatched to the collision at 5 p.m., according to a CHP incident log. 911 callers reported two vehicles, described as a white sedan and black sedan, had been involved in a rear-end collision.

When officials arrived at the scene they found one car that had plowed into the rear of another. Both vehicles sustained moderate to heavy damage in the collision, despite the area’s 30 mph speed limit.

While investigating the collision, CHP determined a westbound vehicle had come to a stop at the marked crosswalk at Plumas St. to allow two people two cross the roadway. Before the pair could enter the crosswalk, another sedan plowed into the back of the first car, showering the pedestrians with car parts and other debris.

Neither of the pedestrians were injured by the flying debris.

Burney resident Ann Johnson later told SCNS she and her grandson had been standing at the corner of Main and Plumas streets, waiting to use a marked crosswalk, when the accident happened right in front of them.

“Even though the (first car) stopped for us to use the crosswalk, suddenly (another car) slammed into the first car,” Johnson explained.

The impact sent “debris from bumpers, fenders, headlights, and tail lights shooting across the street,” Johnson described. “It was only the grace of God that neither my grandson or I were hit by all the flying debris, it was that close.”

According to Johnson, after the crash a “small, young girl who had been a passenger in the second vehicle, immediately opened the passenger door to get out of the vehicle. She was holding her chest and dropped down onto the pavement.”

“She started to get up but others at the scene insisted she stay down till EMTs got there,” said Johnson. Her sister later reported the girl was left black and blue from the impact of the two vehicles.

It was not immediately known if the driver of the car that caused the collision was injured, but the other driver was reportedly uninjured. Both drivers remained at the scene and were cooperating with CHP’s collision investigation.

After the accident, the grateful grandmother admonished others, “Please slow down when you are driving. Vehicles can be a deadly weapon and everyone involved in this crash, including my grandson and I, are lucky to still be alive.

CHP is investigating the cause of the collision and their investigation is ongoing.

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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 29 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.